Get in Baseball Shape!
New Freedom Manager Spends Winter Months Giving Back to the Game AT THE YARD
No one could blame Toby Rumfield for getting as far away from a baseball bat and glove as he can in the off-season. After all, the former second-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds has spent countless hours on and around baseball fields across America for most of his 36 years. But if you thought being far away from baseball was an option, you wouldn’t know Toby Rumfield. After 14 years as a professional player, Rumfield is preparing for his fourth season as a manager at the pro level. When he isn’t working on putting together his first edition of the independent Florence (Ky.) Freedom of the Frontier League, Rumfield can routinely be found inside At the Yard Baseball Training Center. There the Lubbock, Texas native will pass along a wealth of knowledge gained by a lifetime in the game to the next generation of Northern Kentucky baseball prospects.
“I had some great teachers in baseball,” Rumfield said. “I’ve learned from (Braves manager) Bobby Cox and (former major league manager) Jimy Williams, and I was with the (former Montreal) Expos in big league camp under (Hall of Fame player and former manager) Frank Robinson.
“I’ve listened to all those guys talk. What it comes down to, in baseball, is you have to have the right mechanics and you have to learn the game, and you have to have the heart.”
Hired recently as the new manager of the Freedom, Rumfield has rejoined his wife and three children on a full-time basis after living apart from them for months at a time last year. That was while Rumfield was serving as the manager of the River City Rascals, a Frontier League rival of the Freedom. Following the 2008 season Toby was hired to take over as the Freedom’s skipper by the club’s owner, Clint Brown, and the team’s general manager, Kari Rumfield. If that name looks familiar it’s because Kari is Toby’s wife. The couple worked together with the Rascals until Kari left after the 2007 season to accept the front office post in Florence. Now Mr. and Mrs. Rumfield, together with Samantha, TJ and Justin are together in Northern Kentucky.
“I could have managed another team this summer but I chose to stay here in Florence to keep my family together because we’re young,” Rumfield said. “The GM in minor league baseball deals more with the sales and operation of a ballclub, and the baseball part of it is totally separate. It’s not like we’re working side-by-side.
“I respect the job she does. She’s more than held her own as a female GM in a man’s world. But she’s worked her way up and she’s earned the opportunity she’s getting now.”
It’s a well-known fact that the catching position produces more managers than any other position on the field. ATYBTC’s Chris Hook says Rumfield is another great example why backstops make the best skippers.
“It’s no accident that catchers generally make outstanding managers,” Hook said. “Catching is the one position that has to know at least a little bit about every facet of the game - from pitching to hitting to base running to defense. You don’t have to be around Toby long to realize he’s soaked up all the teaching of all the great baseball people he’s been around for so many years.”
Rumfield has high hopes for the Freedom as he continues to put together the club’s roster for the upcoming Frontier League season which begins May 20th.
“It’s like putting a puzzle together,” Rumfield said. “You have to hope the pieces you put together all come together with good chemistry and form a winning team. There’s a lot that goes into being a Frontier League manager, and I enjoy it.”
Though he’ll spend the better part of five months tutoring players with aspirations of climbing the ladder in the professional ranks, Rumfield says his message to youngsters is not that different.
“I’m trying to give these kids every advantage that I didn’t have when I was a kid,” Rumfield said. “I was a pretty good athlete growing up but I was always playing on raw talent.
“There are a lot of kids in the world who don’t get the great coaching that’s available to young players here in the Northern Kentucky area. What a great place to get lessons from guys who have played the game at the highest levels. You can get lessons from guys like (former Kansas City Royals outfielder) Brandon Berger, (former San Francisco Giants pitcher) Chris Hook and (former Cincinnati Reds third-round pick) Todd Etler. These guys have a ton of knowledge about the game to pass on to these kids.”
“I had some great teachers in baseball,” Rumfield said. “I’ve learned from (Braves manager) Bobby Cox and (former major league manager) Jimy Williams, and I was with the (former Montreal) Expos in big league camp under (Hall of Fame player and former manager) Frank Robinson.
“I’ve listened to all those guys talk. What it comes down to, in baseball, is you have to have the right mechanics and you have to learn the game, and you have to have the heart.”
Hired recently as the new manager of the Freedom, Rumfield has rejoined his wife and three children on a full-time basis after living apart from them for months at a time last year. That was while Rumfield was serving as the manager of the River City Rascals, a Frontier League rival of the Freedom. Following the 2008 season Toby was hired to take over as the Freedom’s skipper by the club’s owner, Clint Brown, and the team’s general manager, Kari Rumfield. If that name looks familiar it’s because Kari is Toby’s wife. The couple worked together with the Rascals until Kari left after the 2007 season to accept the front office post in Florence. Now Mr. and Mrs. Rumfield, together with Samantha, TJ and Justin are together in Northern Kentucky.
“I could have managed another team this summer but I chose to stay here in Florence to keep my family together because we’re young,” Rumfield said. “The GM in minor league baseball deals more with the sales and operation of a ballclub, and the baseball part of it is totally separate. It’s not like we’re working side-by-side.
“I respect the job she does. She’s more than held her own as a female GM in a man’s world. But she’s worked her way up and she’s earned the opportunity she’s getting now.”
It’s a well-known fact that the catching position produces more managers than any other position on the field. ATYBTC’s Chris Hook says Rumfield is another great example why backstops make the best skippers.
“It’s no accident that catchers generally make outstanding managers,” Hook said. “Catching is the one position that has to know at least a little bit about every facet of the game - from pitching to hitting to base running to defense. You don’t have to be around Toby long to realize he’s soaked up all the teaching of all the great baseball people he’s been around for so many years.”
Rumfield has high hopes for the Freedom as he continues to put together the club’s roster for the upcoming Frontier League season which begins May 20th.
“It’s like putting a puzzle together,” Rumfield said. “You have to hope the pieces you put together all come together with good chemistry and form a winning team. There’s a lot that goes into being a Frontier League manager, and I enjoy it.”
Though he’ll spend the better part of five months tutoring players with aspirations of climbing the ladder in the professional ranks, Rumfield says his message to youngsters is not that different.
“I’m trying to give these kids every advantage that I didn’t have when I was a kid,” Rumfield said. “I was a pretty good athlete growing up but I was always playing on raw talent.
“There are a lot of kids in the world who don’t get the great coaching that’s available to young players here in the Northern Kentucky area. What a great place to get lessons from guys who have played the game at the highest levels. You can get lessons from guys like (former Kansas City Royals outfielder) Brandon Berger, (former San Francisco Giants pitcher) Chris Hook and (former Cincinnati Reds third-round pick) Todd Etler. These guys have a ton of knowledge about the game to pass on to these kids.”
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