Mike Timlin…Teacher

Mike last night (Photo by Bob Breidenbach/ProJo)

For a couple of years now, folks have been assuming that when Mike Timlin retires he’ll become a coach. I remember reading once, a few years ago, that he said that wouldn’t happen. That when he finishes playing ball he wants to go home and be a husband and dad full time. I can believe this since he seems to be such a strong family man. But I also think there is something in him that loves the game so much he might not be able to walk away. And comments like these in today’s ProJo reinforce that feeling.

“I want to be able to have other people remember me like I wasn’t afraid to help people,” he said. “He wasn’t afraid to help someone else even though that someone else is going to take your job or will be better than you. You still educate other players and you want to be a complete team player, no matter what. If you’re a great team player who sits on the bench and helps everyone during the game and makes the team better out there, that’s the kind of guy you want to be remembered.”

People who think Timlin doesn’t know his career is winding down or who think that he’s being selfish because he still wants to play…well those people can kiss my behind.

The article goes on to talk about how the team changed when Mike joined in in 2003. And Mike’s comments about team chemistry are something all non-bandwagon fans will absolutely “get”:

“When I played against Boston, it was a team with no center,” Timlin said. “Guys would just go out and play and then scatter in the wind. When I first got here in 2003 it was more of a collective agreement among guys that we need to change things.”

The players got together and decided to become a more cohesive unit, which meant spending more time together away from the ballpark. Timlin mentioned the core group was Kevin Millar, Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Doug Mirabelli, Curt Schilling and Bill Mueller. They wanted to change the landscape in Boston.

“All the guys who were there in 2003 started working together and it started showing,” he said. “Things started to go in the right direction and obviously we rolled farther, winning in 2004 and again last year. It’s always about the team. You have to get the concept of the team is greater than the individual, even though the individual does most of the work, the team is still greater. That’s not a theory; it’s a fact. … We didn’t just verbalize it, we did it.”

They certainly did.

Timlin threw a 1-2-3, ten pitch inning last night in Pawtucket. He’ll be throwing one inning every other day for as long as they think he needs to rehab his knee. It probably goes without saying, but I can’t wait to see him back up in Boston.