Roly DeArmas, Father Hen - 3209

Roly DeArmas got an unexpected managerial promotion in 2002, from rookie ball to high-A. He didn't have time to learn much about his players before he arrived, according to the book "Spring Training in Clearwater."

What he did know was how to make them better baseball players.

"They're all good kids who have kept their heads up so far," DeArmas told author A.M. De Quesada. "I'm just going to keep stressing the fundamentals and do some extra work with them. Other than that, we'll just keep on trucking and whatever happens, happens."

For DeArmas, he'd been around long enough to see a lot happen. By that point, he had more than two decades in as a coach or a manager, mostly in the minors. In two of those seasons, he spent time as a major league bullpen coach.

DeArmas' long professional career began as a player, signed by the Phillies in 1973 out of his native Puerto Rico. DeArmas' name is also spelled Roly De Armas.

DeArmas started at short-season Auburn, hitting .264. He made single-A Spartanburg for 1974 and got 20 games at AA Reading in 1975. That was as high as he got.

By 1978, DeArmas had started his new career as a coach, serving as pitching coach at single-A Peninsula. His first managerial job came the next year at rookie Helena.

DeArmas continued as a manager in the minors each year through 1992, spending much of that time in rookie ball.

By 1995, DeArmas was with the White Sox. He served as the club's bullpen coach in Chicago that year and the next.

In 1997, it was back to rookie ball, managing the Gulf Coast League White Sox. He spoke to The Sarasota Herald-Tribune late that August about one of his players, Chad Durham. DeArmas said he saw improvement.

"He improved a lot down here," DeArmas told The Herald-Tribune. "He's a hard worker, always wanting to learn. When you have a kid like that, and you see the improvement, that's very satisfying."

DeArmas moved from there to the Diamondbacks and then to the Phillies, staying largely in rookie ball. In 2007, he became manager of the GCL Phillies, a job he continued in 2014.

DeArmas was in rookie ball back in 1989, at Martinsville. He explained to The Philadelphia Daily News then his role as a rookie ball manager.

"I've been a rookie league manager seven of my 11 years with the Phillies organization, so I'm used to it," DeArmas told The Daily News that June. "Basically, you're like a 'father hen.' You have to make sure they pay the rent, eat properly, and so forth."

• Philadelphia Daily News, June 26, 1989: DeArmas: Manager, Father Figure
• Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Aug. 29, 1997: Durhams have same traits 
• Spring Training in Clearwater, A.M. De Quesada, 2007: Page 70

1990 CMC-Pro Cards Tally
Players/Coaches Featured:1,915
Made the Majors: 879 - 45.9%-X
Never Made Majors: 1,036-54.1%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 375
10+ Seasons in the Minors:218