Buffalo Grove's Bogar does it all for Tampa Bay

Taking on different roles is nothing new for Tim Bogar.

The 1984 Buffalo Grove High School graduate carved out a nine-year major-league baseball career with his ability to play almost any position.

And Bogar's willingness to accept a unique role has him directly involved in this season's best success story.

Bogar is in his first year as a quality assurance coach with the AL East leading Tampa Bay Rays, who come to U.S. Cellular Field today for a potential postseason preview three-game series with the White Sox.

What exactly is a quality assurance coach? It's a question Bogar continues to answer under third-year Rays manager Joe Maddon.

"I'm enjoying it," said Bogar, who hit .228, started at every infield position and even pitched two games in the majors with the Mets, Astros and Dodgers. "It's been a different position, and there are no boundaries to it.

"I don't think I've actually got it to the point where I know exactly what I'm doing yet. What Joe needs me to do to gain an advantage every day, that's what I do."

Bogar was looking to return to the majors after winning 59 percent of his games in four years as a minor-league manager with the Astros and Indians.

Tampa Bay senior vice president Gerry Hunsicker worked in the Mets and Astros organizations. Hunsicker thought Bogar might fit what Maddon envisioned with the position.

"Joe presented what the job was about (at the winter meetings), and I thought it was interesting and would be a good step for me," said Bogar, who hopes to eventually become a major-league manager.

"With all the information that's thrown out there today, I thought the one position I'd always like to have was an information coach - a guy who acts as a liaison between scouting and us (in the dugout)," Maddon told USA Today in April. "I also thought we could use a guy to really organize our day, a guy who scouts us and analyzes us - kind of an assistant to everybody."

Bogar is in uniform before games, throwing batting practice, hitting grounders and helping coaches Tom Foley with the infielders and helping Dave Martinez with bunting and baserunning.

Bogar then gets dressed in street clothes and watches the games from the press box - often sitting with senior baseball adviser Don Zimmer - to scout the Rays and the opponent.

Bogar talks with advance scouts to put together a scouting report for the start of each series. He also was in charge of setting up spring training schedules and is helping Maddon put together a manual on "the Rays way of doing things" for next spring.

But it hasn't been easy not being in the heart of the action.

"The toughest thing is not having the interaction with players during the game and experiencing the emotions in the dugout," Bogar said. "When we had the fight with the Red Sox, sitting up in the press box I obviously knew what happened and why it happened, but I didn't know what was said."

Maddon, who was a bench coach for nearly a decade with the Angels, understood there would be some frustrating aspects to the new job.

"A guy like Joe and his personality makes this job work," Bogar said. "I don't think this job works for every manager in the major leagues.

"One of the things is he doesn't want anything to catch him by surprise. No idea is a bad idea, it's just a matter of if he's going to use it or not."

But Bogar's low-key personality and vision of the game also makes him the right man for the job.

"He's always been that type of guy since we were kids," said Pete Drevline, a former BG standout and New Trier assistant coach. "He studied the game and knew the players.

"One thing about 'Bogie' is he's the most down-to-earth guy. You would never know he was a big-league player."

Partly because Bogar didn't even have a scholarship when he started a stellar career at Eastern Illinois University.

Bogar considers former EIU coach Tom McDevitt as one of his biggest influences in baseball, along with Rockies manager Clint Hurdle, former Astros general manager Tim Purpura and Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell.

"Now this is a compliment, but he did more with less than any player I had," said McDevitt, who played in the Cardinals' farm system and was a major-league scout for 11 years. "He caught on quick and he wasn't afraid to work.

"His attitude is such that he'll be a major-league manager someday. He knows how to handle people."

Bogar's role in one of baseball's most dramatic turnarounds won't hurt his resume.

"My ultimate goal someday is to manage (in the majors) but there are only 30 of those jobs," Bogar said. "Basically you've got to wait your turn and try to gather as much experience as possible."