Coghlan imparts wisdom to rookies Baez, Soler

CINCINNATI -- Chris Coghlan didn't make a splash in his Major League debut as Jorge Soler or Javier Baez did, but he learned from it.

Coghlan's first big league game was May 8, 2009, with the Marlins in Colorado, and he went 2-for-4. That began a stellar season for the outfielder, who finished with a .321 batting average and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

Coghlan's advice to youngsters like Baez and Soler, who made their debuts this year?

"Don't read anything, don't watch anything -- but that's what you do when you're a rookie," Coghlan said. "You can't blame them. Soler probably stayed up and watched himself hit a home run on ESPN [Wednesday night]. Enjoy it.

"I remember doing that. One time I hit two homers in one game, and I waited for 40 minutes to see it on 'Baseball Tonight,' and they didn't show either one. I was like, I'm done. From that point, I never stayed up again to watch."

Coghlan admits there's only so much the players can control.

"It's a new story ... it's exciting, because this is what's been pitched for the last couple years [with the Cubs]," Coghlan said. "There's really a lot that's out of their hands."

Coghlan also made his big league debut on the road, and he credited Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein for planning that for Soler.

"He's smart with that stuff," Coghlan said of Epstein. "Another thing is that each guy who has come up has come to a hitter-friendly park. I don't think that's by accident. I think on the road is smart. There's a little bit less pressure. As soon as he goes home, there will be 50 people at his locker. It's better to make it on the road, then go home after a couple days and you still deal with it, but it's not as crazy."

So far, Soler and Baez, who hit a game-winning home run in the 12th inning of his first big league game, seem to have handled the promotions well.

"When you come up here, everything is going 1,000 miles an hour," Coghlan said. "Enjoy it."