Rookie skipper Morandini at home with Williamsport

WILLIAMSPORT - When he broke in with the Phillies in 1990, he was a wiry kid with longish hair who looked like somebody's little brother. Now he is 45, broader in the chest and arms and wearing a buzz haircut.

Maybe the short hair conveys a military or father figure, a role he sometimes has to play as manager of a team of very young players in the minor leagues.

It has been nearly 2 decades since Mickey Morandini was a part of the 1993 Phillies, one of the franchise's greatest seasons, and even then he knew he wanted to stay in the game when he was done playing. When he retired 10 years ago, the club asked if he would be interested in managing in the low minors. But his three sons were just 6, 4, and less than a year old. Morandini wanted to watch them grow up, so he told the club, not at this time.

He coached high school baseball back home in Chesterton, Ind. For several years, he participated in the Phillies' fantasy camp with his '93 teammates Kevin Stocker, John Kruk, Mitch Williams and Ricky Jordan. For 2 years, he was a guest instructor in spring training with the Phillies.

Now that his boys are older, and realizing he still had connections in the Phillies' front office, he wanted to make the most of that opportunity. Earlier this year, he let the organization know he would be happy to return.

In June, he began his inaugural season as manager of the Williamsport Crosscutters, a short-season team in the New York-Penn League.

Morandini has noticed one difference between coaching a high school team and managing in the minor leagues.

"I don't have to deal with parents," he said from his small office at Bowman Field, which is hosting a Mickey Morandini Bobblehead Giveway for tomorrow night's game against the State College Spikes.

There are also similarities between the two jobs: "You have to have some patience, realize you're developing kids who are making mistakes, and my job is to correct those mistakes and get them heading in the right direction," Morandini said last Saturday.

Later that night, the Crosscutters lost, 4-3, to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. The opposition scored two runs on a botched doubleplay, and a Crosscutter runner was picked off first following a missed bunt attempt. After the game, Morandini said those errors "will be discussed. Absolutely."

"He holds the kids accountable," said Gabe Sinicropi, the club's general manager, "and the players appreciate that.

"The season's about a quarter through, and I think he's really enjoying it. I think he's glad to be back in the game."

Glad to be back, despite the crazy hours. The team had just returned home from a road series in Ohio at 3:20 a.m. Saturday.

"I came into my office at 11 and it didn't bother me, so I guess I'm OK," Morandini said.

Teams in the New York-Penn League can be a mixed bag: Some players are right out of college, others are a year out of high school. In the Saturday night game, the starting pitcher, lefthander Lino Martinez (2-2, 3.58), and Maikel Franco, the third baseman, won't turn 19 until later in the summer. The designated hitter, Harold Martinez, was the Phillies' second-round draft choice out of the University of Miami last month, but he is learning how to hit using a wooden bat. Yet pedigree really doesn't matter too much here, says Morandini: Nobody gets special treatment.

"They know by the way I manage that everybody is given an opportunity here," he said. "I don't look at someone and say he's a second-rounder, I look at each kid who is trying to get better and move up the ladder.

"Everybody is here for a reason. There are a lot of 38th- and 45th-round draft choices that got to the big leagues, so we don't discriminate. Everybody gets an opportunity, everybody gets taught just like everyone else," he said. "I love it because there are talented kids here from top to bottom that I have an opportunity to make better."

The Crosscutters, who are 12-14 and in the middle of a road series that began with a 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Lowell Spinners, play 38 games in Williamsport, so Morandini didn't see the need to rent a house or apartment.

"All I need is a bed, a TV and a remote, and a hotel can provide that for me," he said.

As for meals: "There's a Wegman's - my God, you can get anything there."

His family has visited once and will make one more trip this season. "The boys are busy with their summer baseball and summer vacations," Morandini said. "You can't do this without a supportive family."

Peg, his wife of nearly 21 years, told him that once the kids are out of the house, his hectic schedule will be easily managed, "and that helps when you have a supportive spouse."

"Baseball's my life, really. Playing for Philadelphia was one of the greatest experiences in my life, and to be back in this organization is quite an honor. I don't have a timetable - obviously the ultimate goal is to be able to make it to a big-league club, and hopefully manage, but I have to take some baby steps here first, and see where we're at in a couple of years and go from there."