Bodie at Bowie: New to O's in 2015, Bodie did solid job with Baysox (plus qualifying offer notes)

There were many reasons the Double-A Bowie Baysox won their first Eastern League championship this season. The great leadership of manager Gary Kendall and his coaching staff and the strong performances of so many players were pretty important.

But there was one man who was there for all of it and did some solid work out of the media spotlight. But as I talked to Bowie hitters, his name came up often.

They were happy to thank hitting coach Keith Bodie for his help during the season. This 59-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native has a long and impressive resume in pro baseball, but 2015 was his first season in the Orioles organization.

Bowie batters finished third in the 12-team league in batting average and runs scored, were second in homers and sixth in OBP. In the playoffs, Bowie hit .283 with an OBP of .365 and averaged 6.4 runs per game.

When I asked Bodie how he felt about his first season as an Oriole, he pretty much raved about it.

"It's been a total pleasure for me to be around such good baseball people," Bodie said during the Eastern League playoffs. "I've had a great experience this year. I think it is a privilege to teach the game to young players."

A former minor league player, Bodie spent 16 years as a coach and manager with Houston, the last three as a Double-A manager, before joining the Orioles. Over the years he managed at several levels and his teams won nine division titles in 18 seasons.

With a resume like that, Bodie was more than a hitting coach for Bowie. He was an experienced head for Kendall to bounce things off of and get a take.

"He is just a relentless worker and is brutally honest," Kendall said. "Keith has been in this game a long time and has been a manager and a hitting coach. He has worn a lot of hats. He picks the right time to get with the hitters and he earns their trust, and he will add things with them and help them without throwing too much at them. He has a really good way about him.

"He is a big shoulder for me to lean on since he has experienced so many things and I've leaned on him a lot. His experience and what he brings to the table has really helped this organization."

Bodie was hired by the Orioles director of player development Brian Graham.

"I thought he did a really good job. He has a tremendous work ethic and a tremendous passion for the game. He's very well-rounded and knows every aspect on offense and defense. Just a good baseball guy," Graham said.

"He teaches in a way the hitters really grabbed onto and understood. The players respected him and as a coach that is the greatest thing in the world."

With Bodie providing some help players like Trey Mancini, Quincy Latimore and Corban Joseph had good years, and others like Mike Yastrzemski, Garabez Rosa and Ozzie Martinez came up big in the postseason. A young player like Drew Dosch hit .161 in July and then .329 in August.

Bodie worked closely with Jeff Manto, the Orioles' minor league hitting coordinator.

"Manto is a great guy to work with and we are all on the same page," Bodie said. "Hitting, there are really not too many different ways to do it. Being with this team all year, you get to know the players and know what makes them tick. Everyone is different and there is no one way to teach hitting."

Photos by Bert Hindman

O's extend three qualifying offers: So the Orioles did extend three, not two, qualifying offers. Catcher Matt Wieters got one, along with first baseman Chris Davis and left-hander Wei-Yin Chen. All three are likely to turn down the one-year, $15.8 million offers. So the O's would get a compensatory draft pick for any of the three that signs with another team. The O's got the 36th overall pick last June when Nelson Cruz turned down his qualifying offer last November. That pick turned out to be high school shortstop Ryan Mountcastle.

I think the O's did the right thing here. All three picks could be in the 30s overall, maybe even the high 20s. As teams sign players that turned down qualifying offers, those teams lose their highest draft pick, unless it is one of the top 10 picks, which are protected and can't be lost. For instance, right now, the Orioles hold the 15th pick in the first round. But if ,say, the Mariners signed Davis, Seattle would lose its No. 11 overall pick. The pick just goes away (not to another team) and the O's would then move up one and pick 14th in round one next June. Right now, there are 30 first-round picks, but that number will almost certainly get smaller.

Last year, those compensatory picks were from No. 27 to No. 36 overall. The team getting such a pick with the worst 2015 record gets the top compensatory pick. If the O's lose Davis, Wieters and Chen, they would potentially have four of the first 30 to 35 draft picks next June.

Yesterday afternoon on MLB Network, national writer Jon Heyman predicted that Davis would get a seven-year deal worth $182 million. That is too much for me if I ran a team. Right?