Interviewing José Flores
Last Friday, I had the pleasure of chatting with one of the Baltimore Orioles‘ newest coaches, José Flores. Coming over from the Philadelphia Phillies organization, he just recently helped coach Los Cangrejeros de Santurce to their 15th championship in the Puerto Rican Winter Leagues.
José worked with Brandon Hyde in the Chicago Cubs organization. As you’ll read, that was one of the reasons why he’s now with the Orioles.
He replaces Bobby Dickerson as third base coach and infield instructor and plans on working hard with his entire group to get everyone working together. José believes if you work together – as a family – everything else will fall into place.
I asked José a few questions to allow Orioles fans to achieve a better understanding of the team’s new third base coach.
On how he began his professional baseball career: “So, actually, I was drafted by the Blue Jays back in – I believe it was – ’88 or ’89 and then from there I decided not to sign. [I] played here in an amateur league here in Puerto Rico that is very famous in the island. From there, I did pretty good in that league and then the following year I got drafted by the Astros. I decided to sign and then played my entire career with the Astros. [I] retired, and then back in 2000 I started coaching winter ball in PR. From that point on I decided that’s actually what I wanted to pursue.”
On how to do more than when he was a player: “Hopefully over moments that I learned and the teammates that I’ve had through Winter ball and in the states. I had the chance to play with Bobby Abreu, I was his roommate, I had a chance to play with Alomar here in PR, had a chance to play with Edgar Martinez who’s just in the Hall-of-Fame [and] with ‘Pudge’ Rodriguez and all those guys. [I received] great pieces of advice that they’ve given me throughout my career – as a player and as a coach – so you just pass that along to the players and hopefully they take a little here and there and use it for the better.”
On leaving the Cubs and accepting a position with the Orioles: “The Phillies called the Cubs last year to ask for permission to interview me to be their infield guy and base running guy in the big leagues. They granted permission and I went through a long interview process and got the job and the same thing happened this year when Brandon got the job. He gave me a call and asked me if I wanted to be part of his staff and here we are.”
On the fanbase and trusting the re-build process: “I know the fanbase in Baltimore is huge and they can’t wait for the team to be back on top where it belongs. At the same time, it’s a process that, if we do it the right way, it will work because we’ve done it in the past.”
On Manager Brandon Hyde: “[He has] very high energy, [he’s] willing to go the extra mile to do whatever it takes to develop properly. Great communication skills, he’s the type of guy that trusts in his staff and trusts his staff to work and develop their expertise and I think that’s a huge plus for him. He lets everybody work and that translates into staffing feeling comfortable working around him.”
On Oriole Park at Camden Yards: “[It’s a] great atmosphere. Like I said the fanbase, you can sense and you can feel when you’re playing against them that they want it really bad for the Orioles.”
On the timeframe of the re-build: “I know that it’s going to be, probably not a fast process from where we’re standing right now, but we’re going to try to make it as fast as possible. I know that if [the fans] have the patience the Chicago Cubs fans had, I’m not saying let’s wait 108 years because that’s not going to happen.”
On preparing players for the big leagues: “The mindset from day one, from the big leagues all the way down to the minor leagues, and Brandon and Tim Cossins they have a lot to do with this, we started this saying of ‘when it happens.’ … It mainly prepared the guys mentally and filled their minds that everything they do in the minor leagues, it’s just part of the preparation for when it happens in the big leagues. When they have to execute a bunt play, when they have to execute first-to-third on a single. When they have to execute a safety squeeze or when they have to execute a cut-and-relay properly. All those things take place and if you start from the minor leagues up, all of the sudden it becomes automatic.”
On how he plans to work with the infielders: “I don’t like to pick favorites. I will work exactly the same with Chris Davis as I will do with Drew [Jackson] or with Richie Martin or with Villar because that’s the way I am. I want the whole infield group to feel like they belong and that they’re part of a family. That’s exactly what we’re trying to achieve. We’re trying for them to become a solid group and become a family and if we can do that, I guarantee you that they’re going to be one of the best in the big leagues.”
His message to Orioles fans: “Stay positive, be patient and know that we’re going to give our 200% on a daily basis to make this thing work as soon as possible. We know the fanbase is very anxious to see the Baltimore Orioles in the spot where they belong and that they’ve been in the past, and we’re going to try to make that work as soon as possible. With that being said, the guys that will take a huge part in this process like Chris Davis [and Mark] Trumbo are the leaders. We want the young guys to feed off of those guys. … When they see that, they’re going to feed from them and everything’s going to take its place and fall in the right spot.”
