Former managers help influence Brown’s style

For good and bad, Marty Brown's managerial style was influenced by three of his former well-known managers - baseball's career hits leader Pete Rose, Hall of Famer Frank Robinson and World Series-winning Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel.

Brown, a former big leaguer in his second season with the 51s (50-40), patterned his hard-nosed playing style after Rose, his boyhood idol, and also admired Robinson.

But he became disillusioned with them after playing for Rose on the Cincinnati Reds in 1988 and '89 and for Robinson on the Baltimore Orioles in 1990.

"I learned a lot (from Rose) about what not to do with young players," said Brown, who retired in 1995 after an 11-year career.

"These were two Hall of Fame guys I was so looking forward to playing for. I thought it would be a great experience, and it just turned out to be (expletive) for me," he said. "I had more fun and learned more from the managers I had in Triple A and coming up through the Reds' system."

One such manager was Manuel, who made a positive impact on Brown at Triple-A Colorado Springs.

"I learned a lot from Charlie Manuel about how to manage and communicate with players, and to be honest with players," he said.

Now in his 16th year as a manager, Brown will guide the Pacific Coast League in the 25th annual Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday in Buffalo, N.Y.

The game, which will be televised at 4 p.m. on the MLB Network (Cable 314), will be a homecoming of sorts for Brown, who led the Bisons to the International League title in 2004, earning IL and Baseball America Minor League Manager of the Year honors.

"It was a really special year we had there in 2004, and we almost repeated it in 2005," he said. "We had an extremely talented group of guys."

Buffalo, which was Cleveland's top affiliate, was led by Russell Branyan, Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore, Jhonny Peralta and Ben Francisco.

Brown guided the Bisons to an 83-61 record in 2004 and 82-62 mark in 2005, forging a bond along the way with Blue Jays manager John Farrell, who was then the Indians' farm director.

"He was my boss. It's not like we were buddy buddy," Brown said. "He was kind of a stickler, and we've had many arguments before, but within those arguments I think we came to an understanding and had a good deal of respect for one another."

After spending five years in Japan (2006 to 2010), Brown returned to the U.S. last season, at Farrell's request, to manage Toronto's top affiliate in Las Vegas.

"He's here to get all of us better and to get everybody to the big leagues, and that's special," 51s hitting coach Chad Mottola said. "Some guys kind of use things to promote themselves, where he's here to get the players better and has their interests at heart, and players can sense that."

All-Star closer Chad Beck certainly can.

"Marty is definitely a player's type of manager," he said. "That's why he gets everybody to play hard for him every day, because they know he's got their back."

Brown, 49, who is married with three children, was born in Lawton, Okla., and raised in Rolla, Mo., where he was a three-sport star in high school.

He excelled in two seasons at the University of Georgia, where he hit .373 and was named team co-captain and Most Valuable Player as a senior in 1985, when the Reds drafted him in the 12th round.

He batted .274 in the minors and .180 in 35 games in the majors, while also playing three years in Japan.

"I've always been a real team guy, and I think that's what you look for in a manager," Brown said. "I would give myself up for the team. I never saw any of my stats until I got to Triple A. I didn't even care. Every day for me was to go out and beat his ass."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.