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After 10-year break, Pat Borders back in baseball
By Steve Ruman
NILES
To suggest that Pat Borders’ professional baseball journey has taken him down a long and winding road would be an understatement.
Borders broke into pro ball in 1982. By the time his career ended in 2006, he played for nine different major league clubs, appeared in 1,099 big-league games, collected two championship rings, won an Olympic gold medal and earned a World Series MVP trophy.
On Sunday, Borders — who was born in Columbus and played for the Indians from 1997-1999 — returned to Ohio. He is back in the minors as the manager of the Williamsport Crosscutters.
Williamsport is in the midst of a three-game series against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
Borders is best known for his playing days in Toronto. A catcher, he played for the Blue Jays for six years beginning in 1988. Though he had just a .253 lifetime batting average, he hit .450 with a home run in leading the Jays to a World Series title in 1992. Borders had one of his better overall seasons a year later when Toronto won its second straight championship.
“Honestly, I was in the right place at the right time,” Borders said. “I was never the best player on the field. I had to work every day to stay in the big leagues. I never took things for granted. Baseball is such a difficult game and your career can take unexpected turns from one day to the next.”
Borders retired from baseball in 2005 at age 42. He spent the past 10 years at his home in Florida “watching kids grow up and enjoying some free summers” before the baseball itch returned.
“I never lost the love of baseball one bit, but I was just busy watching my family grow and being a dad,” Borders said.
“Last year, my wife told me, ‘Hey you’re 52, if you want to get back into it you better get on it,’ and here I am. I am having an absolute blast.”
In January, the Philadelphia Phillies hired Borders to manage the Crosscutters — a Class A short season team whose roster is heavy on players getting their first taste of professional baseball.
The fact that Borders had to fight every day to keep a spot on a roster has made for a smooth transition from player to manager.
“I never stopped learning about this game, right up until the last time I put on a uniform,” Borders said. “In this game, you can have the best batting average in the league and you fail at the plate more often than you succeed. How you fight through the struggles will determine your success.
“There are very few players in this game who are standouts and superstars. I wasn’t one of them and most of us aren’t. You just have to work hard and put yourself in the best possible position to stay on the field.”
Borders has been perfect as a manager. The Crosscutters are off to a 9-0 start.
“At this level, it’s about development, but no matter what level you’re at, winning brings out better energy and a better environment to learn,” Borders said.