Bogar replaces Shaun Larkin, who was removed from the role following Wednesday’s game. Larkin will remain on the staff and continue to work with the team’s infielders.
It was actually Larkin who first brought Bogar to the Arizona organization. After being hired as director of player development prior to last season, Larkin hired Bogar to manage Double-A Amarillo.
Larkin was promoted to third-base coach this year while Bogar shifted to special assistant, a role in which he traveled to the different Minor League affiliates.
Larkin had never coached third base at the big league level and he struggled in the new role. After waving a runner around third who was getting thrown out at home plate, Larkin was told by Lovullo that he was going to be removed from the position.
Lovullo said that he believed that Larkin had lost some confidence over the course of the season and also that some players had lost faith in Larkin’s decision making.
Bogar has coached third base before in the Major Leagues, including a stint with the Red Sox, and at times during last season in the Minor Leagues he did as well.
That experience is one of the reasons the Diamondbacks decided on him for the job.
“Tim Bogar’s name kept coming up,” Lovullo said, referring to discussions he had with the front office. “He's been in our system and knows the players. He was a middle infielder. I feel like middle infielders and catchers make the best third-base coaches, because once you have that [internal game] clock on, it's always on for the rest of your life. You know how fast balls can get reversed and thrown around the diamond. And Bogey was a really good middle infielder, defensive middle infielder for a long time. He's done it and coached third base at this level, and I think he's got the right heartbeat.”
Lovullo said he made the final decision to remove Larkin during Wednesday’s game and he spoke with Bogar on Wednesday night and then got it finalized Thursday.
“I'm here to help the organization,” Bogar said. “ I'm here to do whatever I can. That's why I took [the Minor League] job in the first place, and if I can help them down the stretch, that's what I'm here to do.”
Bogar has a pretty good feel for the skills of the Arizona players, having been around them over the past two Spring Trainings.
He also is familiar with just how difficult and thankless the job of a third-base coach can be so he understands how much things weighed on Larkin
“Shaun Larkin is a really good friend of mine,” Bogar said. “He played for me for two years in the Minor Leagues. I've known him for 20 years. We have a really good relationship in that aspect. And then last year he gave me a call and wanted me to come join him in the Minor Leagues, and I was more than happy to do that. Shaun and I have had a really good relationship, and I know Shaun’s been in a tough situation, but the bottom line is that that man's pretty smart. He's a really good baseball man, and, going forward, you're going to see some good things out of him.”
Lovullo praised Larkin for how he took the news.
“He was a perfect example of what I want everybody to be, myself included,” Lovullo said. “When something doesn't go right, you own it. You understand why it took place and then we move on.”