Riddoch returns to Eugene with a treasure trove.

Byline: Steve Mims The Register-Guard

Greg Riddoch will begin his 40th season in professional baseball when he greets his latest club that features a number of players preparing to make their pro debuts.

The manager of the Eugene Emeralds will put his team through its first workout of the season this morning at Civic Stadium as they prepare to start the Northwest League season Tuesday in Spokane.

"It's like walking a path you've never been as far as the players, but I know the path by heart because I've done it for 40 years," Riddoch said. "You still get the nervousness in your stomach and the anxiety of playing the game, but the responsibility of passing on 40 years of experience to young people is tremendous.

"There is not another major-league manager I know of that is going to want to come all the way back down to square one and start over, but to me it is exciting to pass on the things I've learned from great people in baseball to the younger players so their path becomes easier.

"I can say 'There's a bomb in that foxhole over there, so don't step in it' and when they do, I won't say 'I told you so.' I will say 'I've been there and you'll learn from it.' '

Riddoch began his playing career in the Cincinnati organization in 1967 and played five seasons in the minor leagues before he started a coaching career that has taken him through the Cincinnati, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee and Texas organizations. He served as a major-league manager with the Padres from 1990-92 and was the third-base coach for the Devil Rays in 1998-99.

Riddoch has spent recent years in player development with the Rangers, and he managed Spokane to the Northwest League title in 2005. He took last year off before returning to the Padres organization to manage in Eugene, where he led the Ems in 1975-76 and 1978-81, guiding the Ems to their last two titles in 1975 and 1980.

Eugene president and general manager Bob Beban arrived in 1982, the year after Riddoch left, but the two became friends through baseball over the years.

Beban called Riddoch's hiring in November "the neatest thing that has happened to us in 25 years."

He continues to rave about his new manager after watching Riddoch arrive in town last week, a week before the players arrive.

Riddoch and his wife, Linda, still have friends in the area from his first two stints as manager, and they spent the past week reuniting with those friends at barbecues.

Riddoch also attended the Prefontaine Classic and went to Corvallis on Saturday for the NCAA Super Regional game between Oregon State and Michigan that was rained out.

He visited OSU coach Pat Casey and catcher Mitch Canham, who was drafted by San Diego and likely will play for the Ems this summer.

Riddoch already set up his office in the clubhouse complete with a video screen to help the players.

"He's got a screen set up to show video to players of their habits and the habits of opposing pitchers," Beban said. "No manager has ever come here before the players.

"It is just amazing. It is a whole different mind-set this year than any manager I've ever had. He is very, very organized. Every minute a player is here, there is something for him to do.

"Greg mentioned to us that he has 45 minutes where every player has to take curveballs from a machine in a batting cage."

Riddoch has a daily schedule that lists time for individual defense, team defense, catcher defense, early bunting, pitchers and catchers stretching together, and position players stretching together.

"It's kind of exciting," Beban said. "I think it's proven to be pretty successful.

"In five years here he won two times and one year in Spokane he won there."

There are 26 players on the roster including 12 recent draft picks who were added on Tuesday.

There will be more roster additions during the team mini-camp that runs through Sunday, and the roster is likely to continue changing into the start of the season.

"A lot of guys will come in here the next four or five days, and it will be a scramble to teach all the plays and cutoffs and relays and bunt plays and all that stuff," Riddoch said.

"Then we're off to Spokane. I wouldn't expect any kind of a quick start to the season."

That was the situation two years ago when Riddoch led Spokane to the league title. The Indians got off to a slow start but eventually went 37-39 to win the Eastern Division and then defeated Vancouver three games to two in the championship series.

"We started that season playing here in Eugene with eight pitchers and I told the kids, 'No side work boys. Save it for the game until we start to sign some pitchers,' ' Riddoch recalled.

"We signed a couple guys that were not drafted and that gave us 10 pitchers, and then we went through a period where we lost nine games in a row and we were 15 games below .500.

"As we started signing more guys and we revamped our pitching staff, we started playing better and by the last month of the season we were the best team in the league."

The Ems hope Riddoch finds similar success this summer.

"I'm really interested to see how it ends up," Beban said.