The Skipper
Bo Porter strips in dugout to make a point: Astros new manager goes bold on Opening Day
Bo Porter will do anything to drive home his point.
The Houston Astros new manager is not above props, slogans or even a little shirt shedding. Porter took off his long-sleeved top in the dugout for reporters in the buildup to Opening Day's first pitch. He wanted to show off the T-shirts he had commissioned for the team.
The bright orange shirts read "I'm all in" on the front and "For the Vision The Where The Grind" on the back. And yes, Porter will model them for you.
Porter needs his team to buy in. That's what the shirts, the slogan and an impromptu "poker session" with his team are all about.
"I don't need any royalties," he joked before taking the field to throw to the first group of Astros taking batting practice Sunday.
Porter just needs his team to buy in. That's what the shirts, the slogan (which the first-year manager came up with months ago) and an impromptu "poker session" with his team late Saturday afternoon are all about. It's about making a team with a $25 million payroll believe it can at least be somewhat competitive in its inaugural season in the power-packed American League.
After the Astros completed their exhibition schedule at Minute Maid Park Saturday, Porter gathered all the players together around a table full of chairs. Every spot had 25 chips in front of it. Porter talked about commitment, about sticking to it long after "the euphoria" of this nationally-televised opening night matchup with the Texas Rangers wears off and pushed all his chips to the center of the table.
"I'm all in," he said. Everyone around the table followed, pushing in their own chips.
"If anyone didn't, they wouldn't still be here," Porter cracks.
Yes, Porter's regular season motivational ploys have begun. Are they a little hokey? Maybe, but it's not like he's trying to lead a bunch of cynical, world-weary graduate students. The Astros are younger than younger. With this group, Porter's dramatics have a good chance of resonating.
So he sets up a table in the middle of the clubhouse with poker chips around it and takes off his shirt for the TV cameras. Bo is being Bo. He knows a little something about motivational tactics.
"I played for a very creative man," Porter says.
That would be legendary University of Iowa football coach Hayden Fry, the man who helped shape the 40-year-old Porter. Fry would do anything for a psychological edge. He's famous for ordering the visitors locker room at Iowa's Kinnick Stadium to be painted pink. He thought the color kept opponents off guard and took away a little of their aggressiveness.
Porter jokes that he thought about ordering that for the visitors clubhouse at Minute Maid, but decided against it. "Do onto others as you'd like to be done," he says.
Which doesn't mean Porter plans to tone down his own approach.
"I get fired up every time I get out of a meeting with him," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow says. Luhnow's hardly completely joking. Porter can get to suits too.
Now, he just needs to find a way to get some wins.
