It took 31 years, but Dino Ebel has made it to the big leagues as a Dodger

New Dodger third base coach Dino Ebel spent 14 seasons in the Angel organization. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

by Cary Osborne

In the early 1990s, Dodger minor league infielder Dino Ebel was approached by farm director Charlie Blaney, who had taken notice of how the ballplayer connected with his teammates and served as a mentor to some. So he approached Ebel, knowing the player was soon to be a free agent, and told him he had a future in coaching and that the Dodgers had an opportunity for him.

Ebel signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1988 after winning an NCAA Division II national championship with Florida Southern College and made an instant impact with the Dodgers’ Rookie Gulf Coast League in Sarasota as the league’s Player of the Year. Through the years in the Dodger system, he’d play with Mike Piazza, Pedro Martinez and Raul Mondesi. But his numbers never matched the ones he put up in his first year as a pro, and he understood that the Major Leagues as a player was a longshot.

“I didn’t want to bounce around the minor leagues,” Ebel said. “Maybe that dream of getting to the big leagues might have come true, but I said I’m going to buckle down, and if I can’t make it as a player, I’m going to make it as a coach.”

Ebel was first a player/coach in the Dodger minor league system, then played his last game in 1994 and became solely a coach before managing Rookie, Single-A and Double-A clubs in the Dodger organization.

“You set goals for yourself and the goal was, if I’m going to start a coaching career, then the goal was to get to be in a Dodger uniform and be a part of that coaching staff,” Ebel said.

The opportunity to coach in the Majors eventually arrived, but in a different uniform.

The Barstow native, who grew up watching Dodger and Angel games on television, moved south to the Angel organization in 2005 before joining the Angels Major League staff as third base coach under former Dodger Mike Scioscia in 2006.

For 13 seasons with Ebel as either third base coach or bench coach for the Angels, when his team played the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium during interleague games or the preseason Freeway Series, Ebel would get the same feeling.

“It was always walking in that stadium knowing I had a part of it for 17 years at the minor league level,” Ebel said.

Ebel congratulates Shohei Ohtani after a home run at Angel Stadium on July 23, 2018. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

On Nov. 3, Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward left to become the manager of the Texas Rangers. Later in the month, the Dodgers received permission from the Angels to interview Ebel. And days after an interview with President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations Josh Byrnes and manager Dave Roberts, Ebel’s phone rang.

“They called me back, and they wanted me to join their staff, and I couldn’t tell you, I was so thrilled,” Ebel said. “When I got that call from Andrew Friedman asking me to join their staff, I can’t even explain it, it was exciting for me to just know I’m going to put that Dodger uniform back on and be on that Major League field at Dodger Stadium every day.”

Ebel’s recollections of his past days in the organization are filled with legendary experiences. As a minor leaguer in Vero Beach, players would be brought into a room nightly at 8 p.m. to listen to stories by Hall of Famers such as Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, who explained what a privilege it was to wear the Dodger uniform. The pitching coach on Ebel’s Sarasota team in 1988 was 1955 World Series hero Johnny Podres.

“Being with him every day for 2 ½ months in the Gulf Coast League was an experience I will never forget,” Ebel said. “He would sit there and tell stories about the way the Dodgers did it and the championships in Brooklyn. That’s where it started for me.”

Ebel was primarily a shortstop as a player but was pushed to learn the defensive nuances of every infield position from then-Dodger infield coordinator Chico Fernandez. Ebel learned about instincts and preparation from former Dodger longtime third base coach Joe Amalfitano. Many of those tools benefited Ebel greatly with the Angels, where he served at different times as third base coach, bench coach and outfield and infield defensive coordinator.

Ebel is replacing a coach in Woodward who was highly regarded for his work with infielders.

“I heard a lot of good things about what Woody was doing and (my goal is) just make the transition as easy as possible and gain the players’ trust — that’s my goal going into Spring Training,” Ebel said.

“For me, you communicate every day, you go over the scouting reports that come down (from the front office) before a series and be prepared,” Ebel continued. “If the players know you care, they’re going to care. My job as third base coach in charge of the infielders is to put us in the best possible position when the ball is hit to make a play.”

Ebel said he likes data, but he also likes players’ input.

“I spent time with (Gold Glove shortstop) Andrelton Simmons with the Angels. The chart would say to play here, and he’d know the pitcher that night really wasn’t hitting his spots, and he’d cheat going the other way. And sure enough, the ball was hit where he was standing,” Ebel said. “So giving a player a little bit of that, ‘You know what, play baseball. You have the freedom. If you see something different than what we’re seeing, play the game, and we’ll talk about it afterward.’”

Ebel comes back to the Dodger organization with high marks for his work with the Angels.

“Dino is one of the best, if not the best, third base coaches in the game,” Roberts said. “Working with (Scioscia), what he’s done with the infielders — and he’s done some outfield with the Angels — baserunning, they’ve been one of the better baserunning teams in the last decade. His experience, his preparedness and ability to connect with players and teach them.

“We lost a good coach in Chris Woodward, but to have a guy that’s been in that box for many years and has done well and has taught infielders how to catch the baseball and he’s very well-versed, a person who’s loyal and was a Dodger, I know he’s thrilled to be back in Dodger blue.”

Ebel’s first season as a Dodger Major League coach will be 31 years from when he first signed with the team as a 22-year-old — the same season the Dodgers last won a World Series. Ebel remembers watching Kirk Gibson’s Game 1 walk-off homer at a friend’s house in Barstow while eating pizza and cheering in his own home with his parents when the Dodgers clinched the title in Oakland. He felt like a part of it from a distance as a member of the Dodger organization.

“I know everyone reverts back to ’88. But what a great group of guys, great talent, good core (now),” Ebel said. “I know the goal is to win a World Series, and that’s what I’m excited to be part of.”