Tim Stoddard's Coaching Points

Tim Stoddard, a 13-year big leaguer, coached the pitchers at Northwestern for more than two decades. Now an assistant coach at North Central College in Naperville, Ill., Stoddard has had 25 Major League Baseball draft picks under his tutelage, including Luke Farrell. 

“Hard work was never an issue for Luke,” says Stoddard, who played with John Farrell on the Cleveland Indians in the 1980s. “My biggest thing piece of advice to Luke was ‘Keep your ears open and listen as much as you can.’ He always had a pretty good knowledge of the game and how he wanted to approach it. He just had to learn to attack and throw strikes.

“When I try to evaluate guys for the scouts, I’ve always gone on the basis that if a guy can get to Double A, then it’s just a matter of catching a break and getting hot at the right time. Luke’s gotten to that point. Now he just needs an opportunity to get up there and pitch.”