McAdam: Bench coach Jerry Narron embraces the chaos of organizing Summer Camp

Most years, the job of the bench coach is a thankless task.

He's the guy in charge of organizing spring training for about 60 players, which includes scheduling workout times, dividing up groups of players, assigning coaches, determining which players will be on road trips for Grapefruit League games, arranging bullpen sessions and generally ensuring that the whole enterprise is running smoothly.

This year, the job has gone from thankless to almost impossible. Few would want what the role that Red Sox bench coach Jerry Narron has assumed.

Narron has organized spring training for a number of organizations: the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, and for one season in 2003, the Red Sox, too, working as the bench coach under Grady Little.

But the coronavirus pandemic has changed the dynamic in a major way. For one thing, instead of having seven fields at Fenway South with which to work, the Sox are down to two -- one at Fenway Park and another several miles away at Boston College.

For another, the threat of COVID-19 has introduced a whole new element into the mix. Now, Narron must account for social distancing and other health and safety protocols. He must stagger workout times throughout the day to guarantee that there's no overcrowding on the field. And he must do all of it in lieu of exhibition games while still providing the staff with opportunities to evaluate the 49 players on hand.

"He's so good at this job,'' said manager Ron Roenicke, who had Narron as his bench coach in Miluwakee for four full seasons and part of a fifth. "He's been on top of what is without a doubt the most difficult training camp to try to schedule. He's really good at that.''



"It's definitely different,'' acknowledged Narron. "But you know, coming into this, I think I always had the idea of embracing the challenge, the chaos. I think we've done a pretty good job of it, with the protocols we have, the staggered times out there on the field, keep the distancing. But for the most part it's worked out real well.''

In returning to the organization after a 16-year absence, Narron had almost five weeks during Spring Training I to build relationships with the players. Now, after a layoff of more than three months, he's attempting to solidify those bonds, but doing so under less than optimal circumstances.

He can't have many meetings and even one-on-one discussions with players is difficult because of social distancing guidelines.

"That's the worst part,'' concedes Narron. "In baseball, we meet together as a club every day, meet with the staff every day, meet with front office every day to go over what we're doing that day. Just not being able to get together with the staff as a group and go over the schedule, what somebody might want to do differently -- that's the biggest challenge.

"We're not meeting with the players every day, but we do a lot of texting, a lot of Zoom calls. We do whatever we have to do to keep everybody on the same page. I think, for the most part, so far everything's running pretty smoothly. It would be nicer to tighten things up a little bit, but with the protocols, we just have to give some distance and time for the groups being out there.''

At 65, Narron is the oldest person in uniform for the Red Sox organization. Some other teams -- notably, the Minnesota Twins -- made the difficult decision to keep two members of their staff out of uniform for the season out of concern for health.

The Red Sox didn't do that and Narron said he didn't contemplate opting out of the season.

"While I was home, I tried to keep up the best I possibly could with COVID - what was going on with it, who was getting sick,'' Narron said, "and who was recovering -- that type of thing. For me, I think if I had some pre-existing condition, I may have been a little apprehensive. But I'm healthy, or I think I'm healthy. I don't have anything pre-existing, so I felt pretty comfortable doing it.

"I know we're taking a lot of precautions. We're probably safer here than we are anywhere else.''

Once the season begins, Narron will serve as Roenicke's liaison with the players, checking on their health and letting them know in advance when they might be getting a day off. During games, he'll be Roenicke's strategic consultant, advising -- innings ahead of time -- about potential matchups.

For now, however, organizing spring training is all-consuming and Roenicke believes he, again, has the right man for the job -- as unusual as the circumstances might be.

"He gets along with people well,'' said Roenicke. "He connected right away with players in spring training. He's fitting in great. I like the experience he has and any questions I run by him, he usually has a pretty smart answer for me.''