/ STAFF WRITER
TEMPE, Ariz. – Much as Ron Roenicke would have liked to see what could have happened, he instead took the cautious route when he handed the ball to Martin Maldonado on the mound.
Roenicke, then the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, turned to his backup catcher to maneuver the final three outs of a lopsided loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in April 2014. And he gave him specific instructions.
Just throw strikes. Forget the radar gun.
“He’s got the best arm in baseball for a catcher and I thought he was going to go to the mound and try to throw 100 and I didn’t want him to get hurt,” said Roenicke, now the Angels’ third base coach.