PEORIA, Ariz. — Skip Schumaker has played in 11 big-league seasons, won two World Series and spent extensive time around some of the game’s more respected managers: Tony La Russa and Mike Matheny in St. Louis, Don Mattingly in Los Angeles, Bryan Price in Cincinnati.
In short, Schumaker, a well-regarded veteran now trying to make the Padres’ opening-day roster as a utility player, has seen a little bit of everything throughout his career. A 15-minute speech from a rookie big-league manager, though, brought a new wrinkle Wednesday.
Before the Padres took the field for this spring’s first full-squad workout, Andy Green addressed a clubhouse of 62 players as owner Peter Seidler and president and CEO Mike Dee looked on.