Orioles’ new Norfolk manager brings just the right experience

SARASOTA—One of the 48 books written by late sportswriter John Feinstein, who died last week at 69, was about life in Triple-A baseball, “Where Nobody Knows Your Name.”

This year, Tim Federowicz is trying to make sure Oriole fans know his players’ names. Federowicz was hired last fall to replace Buck Britton as manager of the Norfolk Tides.

Britton managed the Tides for the past three years and got to tell Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday that they were on their way to the major leagues for the first time.

This season, the new Norfolk manager might not have as many opportunities to deliver that kind of news, but that doesn’t bother Federowicz (pronounced fed-uh-row-its).

“That’s really exciting. Then there’s times where guys are up and down all the time, you’ve got to give them the call: ‘Hey you’re going back up.’ It’s not as exciting. It’s exciting for them to get to go up, but it’s just like constant for them, up and down, up and down. You’ve just got to learn the players and learn the personalities. Feed the news differently to each guy.”

Sometimes satisfaction comes with players few have heard of. Last year, when he managed Toledo, Detroit’s top minor league team, Federowicz got to tell 29-year-old Bryan Sammons, a journeyman reliever who’d get six big league games ,that it was his time.

The 37-year-old Federowicz was one of those guys. He played parts of eight seasons in the major leagues for six different teams and played 163 games. Only in 2013, when he played 56 games and most of the season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, did Federowicz get into even 30 games in a major league season.

“It was tough. When you’re young, you’re going up and down a lot, having to deal with a lot of failure, especially in the big leagues,” he said. “You don’t get as many reps, as many games up there, so it’s tougher to stay consistent, so just trying to learn how to adjust my schedules and adjust my routines when I go back down so I can be more successful when I go up.

“I think that was the main thing that I was able to take away once I got a little bit older, too. I bounced around to a lot of different teams, learning on the fly, learning pitchers on the fly, trying to really adjust to different organization’s philosophies and everything else.”

Besides the Dodgers (89 games from 2011-2014), Federowicz played for Texas (29 in 2019), Chicago Cubs (17 in 2016), San Francisco (13 in 2017), Houston (10 in 2018), and Cincinnati (5 in 2018). It was life on the run.

Federowicz has some Oriole connections. He played for the Cubs in 2016, their World Series-winning year when Brandon Hyde was the first base coach. He was also with the Astros in 2018 when Mike Elias was assistant general manager, and in 2014 was in a five-player trade when the Dodgers sent him to San Diego in a deal that sent Zach Eflin to Los Angeles.

“I was excited when he started his coaching career,” Hyde said. “Talked to him a little bit this offseason, really enjoyed being with him so far this camp. He’s a really good baseball guy, really knows catching, good with players. He’s enjoyed being here. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

Federowicz was drafted by the Boston Red Sox, and besides the Padres, played in the minor leagues for Cleveland before his playing career ended in 2021.

“I enjoyed it. Obviously, everyone wants to stay in the same place and be familiar with everybody for however many years you play, but I looked at it as a plus,” he said. “I got to join a bunch of different organizations and meet a bunch of people and live in a bunch of different cities, both in the minor leagues and major leagues, and then we started our family, trying to manage that, too. It’s definitely a lot more of a learning experience and I think it equipped me a little bit for now what I’m doing.”

Federowicz, who was named to the U.S. Olympic team for the 2021 Games in Tokyo, didn’t play but won a silver medal in Tokyo.

In 2022, he began his minor league managing career with Triple-A Tacoma in the Seattle Mariners organization, and in 2023 was the Detroit Tigers’ catching coach. Last year, he managed Toledo.

“Normally in spring training, in big league camp, you have two groups. You have a Group A, Group B. He’s been running that Group B with a little bit of help,” Hyde said. “Getting to know the players he’s going to have as much as possible. Most of those guys are still here. He’s excited about the Norfolk season.”

Federowicz attended North Carolina and lives in Chapel Hill, which is about 3 ½ hours away from the Tides’ Harbor Park, so time with his wife and two young daughters can be maximized. He’s like everyone else in Triple-A, knowing he’s one step away from The Show but dealing with players who’d rather be in Baltimore than Norfolk.

“That is tough. You kind of have that mix of the older veteran guys that want to be in the big leagues, have to go down to work on something, obviously the 40-man guys that are always on the shuttle up and down and then you also have the young kids coming up from Double-A that are excited to be there, so it’s a good mix,” he said. “It’s the level that I played at for a long time, so it makes it easier on that end because I’ve experienced it all. You’ve got to handle that mix.”

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I answer Orioles questions. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com