MESA, Ariz. — Nick Lovullo always knew he wanted to stay in baseball after his professional career ended.
After the Boston Red Sox selected him in the 20th round of the 2016 draft, Lovullo spent the next five years in their minor-league system. He moved on to the Miami Marlins organization in 2021, spending part of the season on their Double-A team before finishing the year — and his pro career — in the independent Frontier League.
“You hear every time from people that have gone through the process of retiring and stepping away from playing that when you know, you know,” Lovullo told the Tribune. “When I got to that point in my life, I was like: I’m ready. I had full closure. I had no regrets for how my career went.”
Lovullo wasn’t sure what the transition to the next phase of his baseball life would entail. But an opportunity with the Chicago Cubs to get into coaching presented an ideal opportunity as Double-A Tennessee’s bench coach in 2022.
Coaching is in Lovullo’s blood. His dad, Torey, manages the Arizona Diamondbacks and holds the franchise records for longest tenure and most wins.
Like his son, Torey’s coaching career began in the minors, where he spent a decade working his way up to the big leagues. He was on the coaching staffs of the Toronto Blue Jays (first base, 2011-12) and Red Sox (bench, 2013-16) en route to the Diamondbacks dugout.
Nick Lovullo, 29, already landed his first managerial job. The Cubs named him their Arizona Complex League manager for 2023.
“He has found his own way inside of this game, and he did that on his own,” Torey Lovullo told the Tribune. “He didn’t work for the Arizona Diamondbacks and get promoted through the system. He earned everything that he could possibly earn and I’m proud of him for that.
“This is his path, this is his journey, and I’m enjoying the ride with him.”
In the offseason, Cubs vice president of player development Jared Banner reached out to Lovullo to ask whether he would be interested in interviewing for the ACL manager position. Lovullo was surprised by Banner’s inquiry but responded without hesitation: “Absolutely, let’s go.”
“It’s kind of crazy how fast it happened,” Lovullo said, “but I’m really, really excited.”
Banner touted Lovullo’s growth mindset and ability to connect with players and other coaches.
“He’s always looking to learn more and get better, and that’s a great quality in any coach, especially a young coach,” Banner told the Tribune. “He’s someone who is going to push organizational initiatives and truly believe in them deep into his core. That’s what makes him special. You can tell how genuine he is in terms of helping people understand new concepts, and that’s really what we look for in a coach or manager.
“From the day we interviewed Nick, we thought he had a chance to have a major impact on the organization. He has lived up to those expectations so far, and we’re excited about his future here.”
Torey teared up when Nick called to share the news the Cubs had hired him as their rookie-league manager.
“Baseball is hard,” Torey said, “so you celebrate in two ways: You celebrate because you’re happy for the accomplishment, but then you have such a proud dad moment that he’s on his journey.”
Nick called Torey “an incredible mentor and an incredible person to go to.”
“He’s a dad first and foremost, who just happens to be in this profession,” Nick said. “It’s really cool to bounce ideas off of him, ask him for advice and pick his brain.”
The ACL manager role is unique compared with other affiliate manager’s responsibilities. For most players on the ACL team, it’s either their first time playing in the United States or the initial affiliate stop in their pro career. The Cubs complex in Mesa is often buzzing with activity in the summer.
Lovullo’s new job requires handling a lot of moving parts and coordinating with the organization on a daily basis. He knows he will be dealing with a younger group — the average age of the 2022 ACL roster was 20.1 — but he’s eager to help them and teach what it means to be a baseball player and, more broadly, life lessons.
“I pride myself on communicating and connecting with everybody, leading people and creating an inclusive and overall positive culture,” Lovullo said. “There will be some challenges, but that’s what I’m looking forward to and succeeding in those as well.”
Lovullo chuckled when acknowledging he wasn’t much older than the players he worked with at Double A last year. However, it helped him connect with the Tennessee players. He could relate to their experiences, having played at that level less than a year earlier, understanding the highs and lows of the minor-league life in a quest to reach the big leagues.
Catcher Bryce Windham, who spent the entire season with Tennessee, didn’t initially know Torey Lovullo was Nick’s dad. The notable connection wasn’t something Nick brought up much around players.
“He has a lot of feel for his players and what they need and don’t need,” Windham said. “I would have thought he was coaching for years. All of the players respected him. He was very professional coming straight from professional baseball player to a coach. I mean, I can’t say enough great things about him as a person and coach.”
Lovullo’s duties were wide-ranging with the Smokies, giving him a taste of all coaching aspects. He worked with their infielders and outfielders, helped Windham with his daily pregame catching routine, instructed baserunning, scouted, served as the third base coach and filed reports after games.
Chase Strumpf, a 2019 second-round pick, also played for the Smokies and appreciated having Lovullo as a sounding board. He expects Lovullo will be an asset to the young players on the ACL squad, which Strumpf played on the year he was drafted.
“I remember walking into my first day of pro ball and you don’t know anything, you don’t know anyone and you’re trying to figure it out as you go,” Strumpf said. “And to have a guy like Lovullo that can just tell them, ‘Hey, this is what it’s like when you first get here, be prepared to get a little overwhelmed, but I can help you out and give you tips to get more comfortable,’ he’s going to be great for that aspect.”
Torey can’t suppress his joy while talking about his son’s journey. He believes one of Nick’s best attributes is how he understands people’s personalities and values relationship building. He described Nick as the Pied Piper of his friends when he was a kid, always having a crowd around him.
During Nick’s move from player to coach, he has sought advice from his dad, often with what Torey describes as deep-thinking, thought-provoking questions, not dissimilar to the types of conversations they had over the years.
When prompted for the best piece of advice he’s received from his dad, Nick mulls it over.
“Just be myself,” he said. “Take what I’ve learned from other managers, take what I’ve learned from my dad or anyone else that I’ve played for. But at the end of the day, be yourself and be true to who you are, be true to your character, your core values, enjoy it and have fun. I’m looking forward to every minute of it.”
Neither can recall the last time they lived so close to each other for so long, separated by a 10-minute drive for the next year. The proximity will provide opportunities for Torey to watch Nick manage the ACL Cubs firsthand thanks to their teams’ opposite day-night game times.
Amid the baseball grind, they aren’t taking this for granted.
“Baseball gives back once in a while in small ways,” Torey said.
And maybe one day, another Lovullo will manage a big-league team.
“My goal as a player was always to make the major leagues, and that didn’t work out,” Nick said. “So now shifting gears into coaching, I get a whole other opportunity to do that.”
