The Roof Is On Fire
Nobody wants to put water on the spark Manager Phil Roof has given the Rochester Red Wings.

By Dan Hickling
Minor League News

11.15.04 - ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- You might think it to be a bit unusual if you happened to spot 63-year-old Phil Roof tooling down the highway on his Harley.

Then again, Roof is hardly your usual senior citizen.

At an age where many men would be happily chasing golf balls, or mowing the lawn, Roof finds his pleasure in the same place he has for more than 40 years…at the ballpark.

It's there you'll find him, at Rochester's Frontier Field or elsewhere around the International League, with an endless supply of vigor and a twinkle in his eye that can't be extinguished.

In his 15th season as a minor league manager and 46th year in pro baseball, the courtly Kentuckian had his Rochester Red Wings in the thick of the International League race until the final days of the 2004 campaign.

"I couldn't have a better set up than the one I've got here," said Roof, one of five brothers who played pro ball. "I've been in this game a long time, and this year, it's been easier than ever to do the things I'm capable of doing at my age. I enjoy seeing these young kids play hard, it makes it worthwhile coming to the ballpark. I want to make sure that when they come here, they enjoy it."

It seems the Wings are having plenty of fun these days.

The franchise, in its second year as the Minnesota Twins' Triple-A affiliate, after ending a 41-year marriage with the Baltimore Orioles; enjoyed its first winning season (73-71) since 1997, when Rochester won the Governor's Cup.

Baseball is clearly back in Rochester, and much of the credit belongs to Roof, the grandfather of six, who sets a pace that his players, 40 years his junior, have trouble keeping up with.

"He works as hard as the players do," said Wings outfielder Michael Restovich. "When he was just a coach he'd throw batting practice until his arm fell off. He has a lot of energy and that rubs off on the players. He loves being here as much as anyone. That's why a guy his age is still doing it, because he still loves it. That's why he's successful."

Restovich said that one of Roof's strong suits is his unflappability under pressure, which is something else the young Wings pick up by osmosis.

"I've known Phil for the seven years I've been with the Twins, and he knows baseball," Restovich said. "He's seen it all. There's nothing that he hasn't seen before. There's something comforting to know that if you've got a problem, he's probably going to have an answer for it because he's seen it before. He's always out there for us. He always got time for us."

Even though he draws from a deep pool of baseball knowledge, Roof says that none of that matters if you don't have the people skills to get his points across.

To him, relationships are like a fountain of youth.

He has his own secrets to relating to guys young enough to be his grandsons.

"If you're personable to them, call them by their first name, pat them on the back when they do something good, and then talk to them about their shortcomings, they respect that," he said. "They need help and they want help. And we're glad to pass it on to them. They all listen, they all want to learn, they all want to get to the big leagues. We tell them we're here for their (best) interest, and we're sincere about that."

 

 

 

 

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