By ERIC VICCARO
sports@bowienewsonline.com

Chad Rhoades, a 2001 graduate of Bowie High School, has taken the next step in his coaching career.
The Miami Marlins hired Rhoades to serve as pitching coach for their Single-A affiliate based in the New York-Penn League, the Batavia (N.Y.) Muckdogs.
Interestingly enough, Rhoades signed a contract with Miami on his 33rd birthday, March 10.
“It’s a cliché,” Rhoades said. “But, it puts my foot in the door. I knew it was just a matter of time.”
The Muckdogs, as a low-A team, play a schedule from mid-June through the early part of September. The level is for players that were just selected in the Major League Baseball entry draft, including those fresh out of high school.
Rhoades has built a reputation in the minor leagues as a top-notch pitching coach, most recently working with the independent Florence (Ky.) Freedom of the Frontier League.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for Chad, no doubt,” said Dennis Pelfrey, manager for the Freedom who lives in the offseason in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
“It was inevitable for a guy like Chad,” Pelfrey added. “He’s a grinder, that’s an appropriate word for him.” Read more in the March 26 Bowie News.

Chad Rhoades, shown here when he was a coach with the Gary SouthShore Railcats, was recently hired by the Miami Marlins as pitching coach for one of the club’s Single-A affiliates. (Courtesy photo, used with permission)