Mesa State Alum Coaches Padres              by Gary Libman

In the clubhouse before a series against Los Angeles, San Diego Bullpen Coach Darrel Akerfelds briefs his relief pitchers on how to pitch to each Dodger.

Akerfelds also informs Manager Bruce Bochy how many times each reliever has pitched in a game and warmed up in the bullpen recently. The information tells Bochy who’s fresh enough to pitch that evening.

When the game starts, Akerfelds joins relief pitchers seated in the bullpen beyond the right field fence. “Early in the game you try to keep some of them relaxed,” he said, “so that they don’t sit [tense] the whole night. Then the time comes when everybody knows, ‘This is our area of the game.’”

That time comes in the sixth inning of a recent game at Los Angeles. After Dodger lead off batter Jolbert Cabrera singles, the crowd of 25,000 roars, and the relievers rise from their plastic chairs and pace like high-strung thoroughbreds.

During Dodger rallies over the final four innings, the six-foot, two-inch, 215-pound Akerfelds scrutinizes pitchers warming up. He anticipates what batters the pitchers might face, reviews scouting reports on those hitters, and reminds pitchers of the batters’ weaknesses. Relying on this information, five Padre relievers preserve a 3-2 victory.

“He’s like an assistant pitching coach,” said San Diego Manager Bochy. “…We rely on him having the guys in the bullpen prepared. He sits down there with the lineup card. He knows who’s coming up to hit, and he’s constantly talking to the pitchers about the hitters.”

Padres’ relief ace Trevor Hoffman added that Akerfelds “has the ability to fine tune your [pitching] mechanics and your thought process before you go in, to make sure everyone is optimally ready for the game.”

Akerfelds, 41, joined the Padres after a shuttling between the major and minor leagues during a 12-year playing career.

Born in Aurora, CO, he attended Columbine High School in Littleton, before spending two years at the University of Arkansas, where he pitched and played linebacker on the football team. After transferring to Mesa State, he concentrated on pitching during his junior year, 1983, his only year on campus. He compiled a 10-3 record and 3.64 earned run average as team finished with a 35-13 record.

He went on to play professionally from 1984-95 with seven organizations, appearing briefly in the major leagues with Oakland, Cleveland, Texas and Philadelphia.

“I knew my role,” he said, “I was a 12th pitcher, an up and down guy. It seemed I’d start in AAA [minor leagues] every year and when someone got hurt, maybe get called up.”

After converting from a starting pitcher to a relief pitcher, his best season came when he compiled a 5-2 record and a 3.77 earned run average in 71 games for Philadelphia in 1990.

In 1991 he couldn’t regain that form and at mid season returned to the minor leagues to stay.

“I had just moved to the bull pen the year before,” he said. “I think all the previous years of being a starting pitcher caught up with me. My arm didn’t hurt. I just lost about four miles an hour on my fast ball and the sharpness on my breaking ball.”

After retiring as a player in 1995, he sent out letters seeking a job coaching. The Padres named him pitching coach for Class A Clinton, Iowa, in 1997. After only four and a half seasons in coaching, he reached his present job midway through 2001.

“I think I was just fortunate,” he said. “My pitching staff [in the minor leagues] pitched well. Maybe that was a reflection on my pitching philosophies and teaching abilities.”Akerfelds’ varied experience also helped. “I was a starting pitcher, I was a long relief pitcher and I was a closer,” he said. “I was released and traded. I had eight years in the minor leagues and three years in the majors.

“When you’re a AAA pitching coach and a guy gets sent down, you can say that it’s time to go to work and figure out how to get you back up there. It’s not time to pout. You’ve experienced a lot of things that happen to these guys.”

Whatever propelled him to San Diego, he appreciates that he has the manager and pitching coach’s approval to change the relief pitchers’ approach or technique.

“I’m extremely happy in San Diego,” he said. “It’s a great organization. They’re very fair. It’s a nice mixture of experienced and young players. There’s a new stadium coming. And my relationship with the pitching coach is second to none.”