51s’ Wally Backman brings usual intensity to All-Star Game

Wally Backman hasn’t been home since late January. From spring training to the end of the season in September, the All-Star break represents the only real time for Backman to go home.

But any plans for the 51s manager to return there before heading out to the coast to fish were dashed in May with a phone call from Pacific Coast League president Branch Rickey inviting him to lead the PCL’s All-Star team.

“Of course it’s an honor to be able to do it. It’s something that you don’t turn down,” Backman said.

Like in the majors, Chris Tremie, who led the Columbus Clippers to the Triple-A championship game last season, managed the International League team.

But the 51s didn’t win the PCL last year.

So, why Backman?

“It doesn’t need any more explanation,” Rickey said.

And then he paused before launching into an explanation.

“The minute he says he’ll do it, then you know he brings intensity to it, and that intensity wakes up a spark in the players,” Rickey said. “If the manager is lackadaisical, the players are going to go about it as an All-Star Game. Wally’s going to turn it into a competition. I don’t care what the score is, Wally’s going to be out there battling.”

The PCL lost 4-2 to the International League on Wednesday, but in the week prior, Backman was treating it just like a regular-season outing, mentioning the scouting reports and talking about matchups.

He also spent the week deferring attention from himself, continuously saying the event was about the players and not about him, though in some part, it was.

“I think it tells you about what the league thinks about him,” 51s All-Star third baseman T.J. Rivera said. “I guess it is for the players, but they also pick the managers for a reason as well, and it’s because he’s done a great job and I think everybody knows that he pulls for us as players.”

So, instead of spending the week in relative solitude reeling in fish, he’s been surrounded by baseball.

There’s been dinners at steakhouses with people from the league office, visits from family, a gala at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, a luncheon and a chance to reconnect with people he hasn’t seen in a while.

At the luncheon Wednesday, former major league manager Charlie Manuel spoke about the expectation of winning every day, which resonated with Backman, who talks about winning, playing the game the right way and taking the game personally almost as much as he talks about anything else.

“Guys like Wally win. He’s a winner,” 51s president Don Logan said. “The reason the players play so hard for him is that they know he’s got their back. He cares.”

Back in his playing days, Backman was known for his gritty style. More recently, a couple of YouTube videos of him yelling expletives at umpires have shaped some of his public image.

“Everybody sees the YouTube stuff,” Backman said. “It’s just not my personality. I guess it was at one time.”

But the reason that sparked the ejections — standing up for his players and trying to win — still remain.

“Players know that I care because I’ve been there and I know how hard it is, so I’m not the guy that’s going to yell at guys because of one bad game,” Backman said. “I expect to win every day. I expect players to be prepared to win every day. And I know you’re not going to win every day, but that expectation is supposed to be in their heads every day they come to the field.”

And so when Rickey called him, Backman came to Charlotte to win, even if it meant he couldn’t spend the week fishing.

“It’s an acknowledge of a job well done managing not only in Vegas but what he’s done through his career as a manager,” Logan said. “He’s trying to make that next step. The next move is to the big leagues, and he really wants to do this. This certainly doesn’t hurt having him be on national TV. He deserves it. … He works at it. He works very hard at it.”

Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand.