He Has a Modest Goal: To Be a Bullpen Coach

Little kids dream of being big leaguers. Jim Guadagno had that dream, too.

But he’s no kid. He’s 30 and more realistic. He wants to be a bullpen coach with the Atlanta Braves.

Guadagno readily admits it may be a far-reaching goal since he has no minor league experience, but he does have some things in his favor.

He has worked for the Braves for six years.

Guadagno is the young, dark-haired man with glasses who can be seen behind home plate at every Braves game, radar gun in hand and charting each and every pitch.

If you get to an Atlanta game early, you can also see No. 53 in a Braves’ uniform throwing batting practice to the pitchers, hitting fungoes to the outfielders and ground balls to the infielders. That’s also Guadagno, doing that part of his job he loves best.

Afterward, he changes out of his uniform, showers and puts on his civilian clothes before scurrying to his seat behind home plate to complete his day’s work.

“It’s a dream, getting an opportunity like this with a major league team,” said Guadagno, who was a catcher in high school at Archbishop Molloy in New York City and at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla.

“But, I knew in my junior year in college I wasn’t going to make it to the big leagues as a player,” he recalled.

So he did the next best thing to remain in the sport he loves.

Guadagno was a graduate assistant baseball coach at Rollins for a year, then went to the University of Georgia where he also was a graduate assistant while getting his masters degree in sports management.

The opportunity with the Braves came up when he applied for an internship in the club’s public relations department to complete his masters. Instead, he was offered his current job. “I grabbed it,” said Guadagno.

“Now, my ultimate goal is to be a bullpen coach, which is probably the low end of the ladder on the coaching staff,” said Guadagno. “And it may be an unattainable goal.

“I’d probably have to go to the minor leagues, take a step down, and may never come back. This is the major league’s. It’s top level,” he said.

He looked around the locker room as he spoke from his locker, which is next to pitcher Steve Avery’s stall.

“Although I’m not a coach on the staff, it’s a very nice lifestyle. It’s a dream even though I’m not a player. I’ve been around it for six years and it would be tough to walk away,” he said of his goal to be a bullpen coach.

“It’s something I evaluate every year with my wife. I’ve discussed it with (general manager) John Schuerholz, and he said at the end of the season we would sit down and discuss it.”

“His current job is a valuable role in intelligence gathering,” Schuerholz said. “That’s the key to Jim’s value to us. He travels with the club. He’s very thorough and very conscientious. Throwing batting practice is an extra plus.”

But Schuerholz said the minor leagues is a must if Guadagno wants to coach.

“He’s got to prepare himself. I told him to let me know at the end of the season and I’ll see if there’s an opportunity in the minors. He needs to gain that experience,” said Schuerholz, who added he also told Guadagno that “there are a lot of guys in the minors -- coaches and managers -- who would like to be in his shoes.”

Guadagno, who lives in Stone Mountain with his wife, Susan, and 15-month-old daughter, Katie, knows he has several options, but until now baseball has been his life.

“I have a masters degree, and I’ve gained a lot of knowledge by talking baseball on a major league level with players,” he said. “But it is frustrating being a non-player, a non-professional. Even though I haven’t put in the time, I feel like knowledge is knowledge.

“It’s going to be a year-to-year thing. I’ll see how I stand. How management feels about me,” said Guadagno. “That will be a big influence.”