Akron manager Rouglas Odor spoke to The Akron Beacon-Journal in August 2021 about the difficulties of managing in the minor leagues.
One of the biggest difficulties - among its greatest satisfactions - is seeing successful players move up, Odor told The Beacon-Journal.
"It's a combination of both the coaching staff and the players," Odor told The Beacon-Journal then. "I'm happy to see players ... move up. I'm happy that they got the opportunity to move up in (AAA) Columbus. At the same time, I'm happy for the new players coming in. It's great to develop them. Hopefully, soon they'll get the chance to play in the big leagues."
Years earlier, Odor had once been a player himself. He ended up seeing eight pro seasons. He eventually moved up to AA, but he never saw the bigs. He has, however, gone on to a lengthy post-playing career coaching and managing in the minors.
Odor's playing career began in 1988, taken by the Indians in the 32nd round of the draft out of the University of New Orleans.
He started with the Indians at rookie Burlington. He hit .248 in 63 games. Odor then moved to single-A Kinston and short-season Watertown for 1989. He hit .235 on the year in 80 games.
Odor played 1990 at high-A Kinston, then 1991 at AA Canton-Akron. He hit .199 in 76 games at Canton-Akron.
He played 1992 back at Kinston, before returning to Canton-Akron for 1993 . He picked up three hits in one June 1993 contest, including the game-winner, The Beacon-Journal wrote. He credited his manager and third base coach Brian Graham with helping on the winner.
"Brian called to me and told me to stay back and hit it the other way," Odor told The Beacon-Journal afterward.
Odor hit .209 that year in 86 games. He then returned for 35 more games in 1994. He played six games with the Brewers at AA El Paso in 1995 and also saw independent Laredo and Lubbock that year to end his playing career.
By 1999, Odor had started his managing and coaching career, in Venezuela with San Felipe. He arrived stateside at rookie Burlington in 2001, then managed at short-season Mahoning Valley in 2005.
He turned hitting coach in 2009 at high-A Kinston, then at Akron in 2011 and AAA Columbus in 2015. He returned to Akron as manager in 2019, a job he continues to hold in 2022.
"I'm glad to be back in Akron again with a great group of people, including the players, coaching staff and front office," Odor told The Beacon-Journal upon returning for 2022. "It's such a great town to play baseball games, with a great ballpark, great fans and solid atmosphere."
- Akron Beacon-Journal, June 18, 1993: No. 9 is No. 1 on this night
- Akron Beacon-Journal, Aug. 4, 2021: Managing a minor league team often a roller-coaster of hellos and goodbyes
- Akron Beacon-Journal, Jan. 13, 2022: Bringing back a champion: RubberDucks retain Odor as manager
Made the Majors:1,333-33.3%
Never Made Majors:2,675-66.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:547
10+ Seasons in the Minors:329
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