Wednesday, March 26, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Although he managed the Las Vegas Stars to the 1986 Pacific Coast League Championship, Larry Bowa perhaps is best remembered around Cashman Field for his volatile temper and numerous run-ins with umpires, media and even his own players.
A highly publicized clubhouse shouting match between Bowa and Stars outfielder Gary Woods, a former Chicago Cubs teammate, and a less visible shoving match with a pitcher in the dugout during a game had many wondering if the former five-time All-Star shortstop was cut out for managing.
His numerous on-the-field tirades against female umpire Pam Postema -- which led to no fewer than a half-dozen ejections and fines for Bowa -- quickly became legendary around baseball but only fueled speculation that Bowa was not managerial material.
But six weeks after guiding the Stars to their first league title, the San Diego Padres named Bowa as their manager. He lasted only 208 games in the Padres' dugout, getting the boot after San Diego got off to a 16-30 start in 1988.
Bowa has served as a third-base coach, first with the Philadelphia Phillies and, now, with the Anaheim Angels, since his brief major-league managerial stint. And it may come as a surprise to some that Bowa hasn't mellowed one bit despite playing second fiddle to Jim Fregosi in Philly and Terry Collins in Anaheim.
"I really haven't had to temper myself (as a coach) because I think the managers I've been with, Jim Fregosi and Terry Collins, are both very intense people," said Bowa, who joined Collins' staff in Anaheim this past winter.
"I imagine if I was with somebody who was real low-key, I'd have to say yeah, but with the people I've worked for, they're easy people to work for and they let me, basically, do what I'm supposed to do and that's what makes it a lot easier."
That's not to say that Bowa wants to spend the remainder of his baseball career as a third-base coach. Among others, he interviewed for the openings in Philadelphia and Boston during the off-season, but lost out to Terry Francona and Jimy Williams, respectively.
"It's all a very political thing," Bowa said of the major-league hiring process. "All of my interviews, especially with American League teams, I went back two or three times. The bottom line was, 'You don't know the American League,' which, basically, is true because I've never been in the American League."
Which doesn't make sense to the 51-year-old Bowa, who maintains that if you can manage in the National League, you can certainly handle running a game in the American League, where a manager has far fewer moves to make because of the designated hitter.
Bowa should feel more at home in Anaheim this season under Collins, who is attempting to bring the National League style of play to his American League team. And that makes Bowa happy because it gives him the opportunity to do what he loves most -- teaching younger players.
"Terry wants to get a little National League (style) involved so you're talking a little more bunting and hitting-and-running and stealing some bags," Bowa said. "It's going to take a little time because a lot of these guys are all American Leaguers and they're used to that 'wait for a three-run homer' style of play.
"It's going to take a little while because if you have an attitude for a long time of playing a certain way, it's not going to change in five or six weeks. But I like it because it gives me a chance to teach."
Teaching is what made Bowa's experience in Las Vegas so enjoyable in 1986, he said. Among the future major leaguers who developed under Bowa that season were Shane Mack, Benito Santiago, Mark Parent, Bob Stoddard, Ed Vosberg and Ed Wojna.
"I had a good time in Vegas -- it was a lot of fun," Bowa said. "When you're in the minor leagues and you have players that haven't reached their goal yet, they're really attentive. They're like sponges and they look at somebody who has played in the big leagues and has been successful and they have a tendency to listen a little bit, pay more attention."
While he insists he is enjoying his role as a coach, Bowa did not rule out the possibility of one day returning to the minor leagues to manage.
"That's an option -- it was an option this year," Bowa said of managing in the minors. "I had a couple teams approach me and ask me if I would be interested. Right now, no, I'm not. But who knows after a year or two years here?
"If it gets to a point where I'm tired of coaching, I might go down to the minors. I like working with kids; it's a challenge. It's fun to watch a team play the first half and watch them grow a little bit in the second half."
Despite suffering a horrendous season last year with the Phillies, who finished 29 games out of first place in the National League East, Bowa said it never got to the point where he stopped enjoying going to the ballpark.
"As bad as things got -- and last year I had a tough year in Philly because we didn't have a good team -- and we've had a rough spring down here but I've yet to wake up in the morning and say 'Oh, God, I don't want to go to the park,' and I didn't do that once last year.
"I'd still love to (manage) but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen -- it's not like it's the end of the world. I've had a good career in baseball and I'm happy doing what I'm doing."
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