FORT MYERS, FLA. -- Phil Roof will turn 74 early next month. His first association with the Twins was as a backup catcher from 1971 through 1976.
This was a time when Twins' attendance was plummeting and owner Calvin Griffith was throwing around quarters as if they were manhole covers. He was squeezing coins so hard in 1974 and 1975 that manager Frank Quilici had a three-man coaching staff and two, Vern Morgan and Ralph Rowe, were not spry enough to throw batting practice.
Quilici threw thousands of BP pitches, and so did his pitching coaches (first Bob Rodgers and then Lee Stange). Frankie had to enlist players to assist with the task when the Twins were on the road, and the regulars were Roof and Jerry Terrell, a backup infielder.
Roof departed the Twins on waivers in 1976. His career was over a year later, and when in need, he always had a home in the Twins organization.
He was the bullpen coach in San Diego in 1978, for six seasons (1983-88) with the Mariners, and for two seasons with the Cubs (1990-91). When not on big-league staffs, Roof generally was with the Twins. He managed their Class AAA teams in Portland, Salt Lake City and Rochester for a total of 10 seasons.
Minor league managers spend a lot of time throwing batting practice. In more frugal times, so did bullpen coaches.
Roof retired as Rochester's manager in 2005. He still gets an invitation to come to spring training. And on Monday, he was throwing batting practice and proved that he still has the ability to serve awe-inspiring blasts as a BP pitcher.
The second group Roof was throwing to in this informal workout included Kennys Vargas and Miguel Sano. By consensus, these are two of the three most-powerful men in the Twins' organization. The third, Oswaldo Arcia, has not been among the early arrivers after playing some winter ball in Venezuela.