When you meet Rancho Cucamonga Quakes new manager Bill Haselman for the first time you will immediately notice two things about him: 1) He is a really nice guy; and 2) He is all business when it comes to managing his team.

Haselman, who spent 13 years in the major leagues as a catcher for the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers, served as manager of the Dodgers Low Single-A affiliate Great Lakes Loons in 2014 after four years of managing in the California League for the Mariners, Rangers and Angels organizations. As such, it was a no-brainer that he would take over as manager of the Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes when the spot opened up for the 2015 season.

One thing that jumps out at you about Bill Haselman is that there is tremendous communication between he and his players. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Quakes fans who arrive early at LoanMart Field to watch the team workout will notice that Haselman does things a bit different than his predecessors – he has his players in constant motion. There is no down time, no sitting or standing around shooting the bull. Everybody is doing something relevant to the game.

There is no down time for Bill Haselman’s Quakes. While one group is taking batting practice, the next group takes bunting practice. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

“They play hard, they do what they’re supposed to do and they workout hard,” said Haselman of his players. “I expect a lot of things from them.”

Even Dodgers new Director of Player Development Gabe Kapler noticed this, and just as any good leader should do, Kapler credited Haselman and the entire minor league staff for the improvements.

“The guy standing behind you, Damon Mashore, he’s our hitting coordinator and he’s responsible for implementing our hitting programs and basically the offensive side of our game,” Kapler said. “He’s done a tremendous job of sharpening our guys in the batters box and he’s going to do everything in his power for our pregame work to be efficient and effective.”

Another thing that is blatantly obvious with Haselman is that even though he runs a tight ship, his players clearly love the 48-year-old Long Branch, New Jersey native. And why wouldn’t they when he spends so much time working on the finer points of the game with them, such as how to lead off from a base while the opposing pitcher makes his delivery.

It is abundantly clear that Haselman’s players think the world of him.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Through their first 10 games the Quakes are off to a great start posting a 7-3 record – good enough to be tied for first place in the Cal League South standings with their archrivals the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels). Much of that success is due to a very good Quakes pitching staff that includes Dodgers top-10 pitching prospect Jose De Leon, among others.

“Jose is competitive, he works hard, he’s got really good stuff, he locates the ball well,” said Haselman of De Leon. “He knows how to pitch, not just throw. He has all the variables that you need to be a very successful pitcher.”

And then there’s the Quakes bullpen that didn’t allow an earned run until the fourth game of the season.

“They’ve been pretty good, there’s some pretty good arms down there,” Haselman said. “If they continue to do what they’ve been doing – throwing strikes – they’re going to be hard to square the ball up against. If we attack them and don’t give them any free bases, that’s going to be one hard staff to be able to square up balls.”

With his team currently sitting in first place in the Cal League South standings with a 6-3 record, don’t look for Haselman to let up any time soon, In fact, with the help of pitching coach Bill Simas, hitting coach Mike Eylward and assistant coach Rafael Ozuna, there is every reason to believe that the 2015 Cal League Championship will have to go through Rancho Cucamonga this year.