Tim Dillard Talks Broadcasting, Colorado Springs and His Future with the Brewers

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Courtesy Tim Dillard (@TimDillard)

Tim Dillard is one of the longest tenured employees in the Brewers organization, having been selected in the 34th round of the 2002 draft. In addition to preparing for his 13th professional season, he’s had a unique opportunity to try his hand at broadcasting this spring, and we recently had a chance to talk with the pitcher about that experience and more.

This spring you received a unique opportunity to work on webcasts of Brewers games. What’s that been like?

It’s awesome. I was telling some of the guys asking me about it the first time, and then the second time I did it, which I feel like is all I’m going to be doing, I don’t know if I can do it again or not, but it was really a fun experience because I know a lot of them. I see them every day, a lot of them. So to have that connection, it’s really fun.

It’s easy to say something negative. It’s the easy road. But what you want to hear is what they’re doing right. What kind of guys they are, you know? And that’s what I love. So being on the radio, you get to talk about…I made fun of Michael Reed, because he’s so big and jacked, so… [laughs].

You know, just an interesting take on things that maybe a lot of people who aren’t in the clubhouse on a daily basis wouldn’t know. And I have that freedom to be able to do it, because they know me well enough that I can say whatever and they’re cool with it.

So is broadcasting something you think you might want to do someday?

Well, I’ve been saying lately, when I retire in 10-12 years from playing, I would consider it [laughs].

For me, not to say that coaching is easy, but I didn’t really feel like I would ever be a good coach until I was in AA in 2014 and I was six or seven years older than everyone in the bullpen. I kind of took on a coaching-type feel, in a way. It’s guys asking questions, and answering them in such a way that it’s not about me, it’s me when I witnessed Ben Sheets do something. So I get to tell these stories because I’ve been around for a while and I’ve observed all these different facets.

Coaching is… you do that and you’re kind of there for 30-40 years, if you’re a good coach. So I didn’t want to do that. If I ever had an opportunity in broadcasting or something in media, it’d be tougher to get out of that, I thought. So if I had to retire in 10 years I would probably go to broadcasting first, and as soon as I failed at that [laughs], I would become a coach, maybe.

On the topic of retirement: On one of the webcasts this spring you mentioned that some of your former teammates have gone into coaching or scouting. Where do you draw the line, where it’s time to look at the next thing like that?

For everybody it’s going to be different. For me personally, I’m just going to try as hard as I can to get a jersey and keep it. And when I can’t get a jersey, I don’t know how much time that will have to pass before I make a decision. But the way my career’s been the last four-five years, I’ve considered it quite a bit. And I keep getting a jersey. I keep playing. I keep doing well enough to score a job for the next year. And I really think I can pitch in the big leagues. I think I have the talent to do it, and I think my pitches are good enough to be there. At my age and my story, it’s just really tough to be given that kind of a chance and get into a role I can thrive in.

With that being said, as long as you have a jersey you have a chance. And I was at the Winter Meetings asking for a job because I knew that if I had a jersey, if I could get a jersey, then I would have a chance. So as soon as I can’t get a jersey and as soon as I don’t have a chance anymore, then that will be the time.

So what are some of your goals for this season?

I have lots of short-term goals. I don’t have any long-term goals. Short-term goals would be to make a team. I hope I make the Colorado Springs team. Last year I made it on the inactive list. Because Triple-A’s a swinging door a lot of times, what they’ve done in the past, if somebody gets hurt the first week or somebody gets called up in the first week, instead of having to transfer guys between cities they want a guy to be on-site, whether it’s on the inactive list or… I don’t know how they work all that out. But I was able to travel with the team, and they activated me after like eight or 10 days into the season. So I don’t know if that’s going to be the role this year. I know they have a lot of pitchers. But I know it takes a big roster to get through the season at any level. So however I can make the team, I want to make it. Because consistency for me is key. As long as you can be the same guy, with good stuff, and get people out consistently, you can thrive. You can have a long career.

That’s kind of the one thing. If nothing else I can pride myself on, I’ve been consistent. Whether it’s staying healthy or just giving your team a chance to win. So yeah, my short term goal is to make a team, and then the second goal would be to just be consistent and get people out.

You had an opportunity to pitch in Nashville when the Brewers had their AAA affiliate there, and in 2015 you also had a chance to pitch for their new affiliate in Colorado Springs. Did you notice a change with the elevation and the move out west?

Absolutely. It’s the highest… I think it’s the highest stadium in the world. I don’t know. I made that up and was telling people that at the Winter Meetings, telling people I pitched in the highest place on Earth. I don’t know if that’s true or not but it sounded good at the time, trying to get a job.

It’s hard. You would get a guy to pop up and it can easily be a home run. So every pitch matters, and when you’re in a place like that it still matters, but it matters in a concentration form. I would say more than physically, you have to be mentally ready. One of the things I’ve done this spring is talking to guys, what I’ve been impressed with is a lot of the younger guys that are going to get a chance in Colorado Springs have come to me and are asking, "Hey, what’s it like?" And you have to stay with your foundation in keeping the ball down, and sometimes you’re going to make the best pitch imaginable and it’s going to be a home run. Do not be afraid of that. You can’t be afraid to pitch. You can’t be afraid to throw a strike. Because when you face seven hitters and they’ve all reached base and nobody’s warming up in the pen, you’ve still got to make a pitch. Staying consistent means having that bad outing, or that unfortunate outing, few and far between.

But yeah, the elevation, it plays a factor. And it’s different too. The weather there was tough. It was cold, windy, almost every game there was a new challenge. So not to be pessimistic, but I came every day expecting it to be the worst environment imaginable. It’s going to be cold, it’s going to be hot. It’s going to be windy, it’s going to be rainy, it’s going to be tornadoey… we had a tornado warning and stopped a game last year. So if you just prepare that it’s going to be bad, then you’re not surprised at all. And I don’t think it’s being pessimistic, I think it’s being real. It’s about being prepared. And it’s a very difficult place but that was my 13th season last year and I felt like, overcoming that environment at that level, it was arguably my best year. And I think it had a lot to do with being mentally ready.

Entering this season under the Brewers’ rebuild, with a lot of young guys in camp, have you noticed a change in culture around this team?

Yeah, there are a lot of new faces. It’s usually a good thing. I’ll say what David Stearns said when he was talking to the team. When he came in, he hit the nail on the head. He was talking to the minor leagues and he said, “Look around. There’s more talent in this room than any other room like this in minor league baseball.” And I think he’s 100% correct. I think in a very short time span, from what I’ve seen I don’t know if I’ve ever been around this much talent. And everyone is young. It doesn’t mean everyone is big league ready, but it means they need to be mentored in such a way that they are ready so when the time comes they know how to utilize that talent and thrive in a big league environment.

One thing I’ve seen is excitement from everybody, in every job, on the big league side and the minor league side. It goes from clubbies, to trainers, to coaches, to strength guys, to players. Everyone is just excited. And I haven’t seen that in the organization in maybe four-five years.