Bogar's Bio at RaysBaseball.com | WorldSeries.com

TAMPA BAY -- Tim Bogar was in the Tampa Bay clubhouse with senior advisor Don Zimmer when their Rays clinched the American League championship Sunday night.

The former Eastern Illinois baseball infielder figures he is now old and wise enough anyway to avoid injuries when players had their pile-on following the final out of the seventh game against the Boston Red Sox.

Still, the 42-year-old Bogar had some of that same youthful joy after the Rays' 3-1 win.

“This is really neat,” he said. “Obviously, you play professionally to go to the World Series and win it. Even though I wasn't a player or on the field when it happened, it's a great feeling. I've won minor league championship as a player and gotten to the playoffs but there is a special thing inside to be involved in the World Series.”

Nine years after playing in two games for the Houston Astros in a National League Division Series loss to the Atlanta Braves, the former infielder now is in the World Series even though not in the dugout to where television cameras are going to show him very often.

He was hired this year as the Rays' seventh coach with Major League baseball allowing six coaches in the dugout during the game.

Maybe he was the addition needed to take the Rays from the laughable last place team to this year's American League East champions and now World Series team.

“Yeah, it has everything to do with me,” Bogar said with a laugh. “Honestly, I think it's one of those things that it has been leading it up to this for a few years. We felt if we had a solid bullpen we had a chance to do things.”

Moving this year two seasons after being named the Eastern League manager of the year with Cleveland Indians' Class AA club, Bogar has the title of quality assurance with the Rays.

After pitching batting practice – did you remember that he did pitch two innings for the Astros in 2000? - and hitting fungos to infielders and outfielders before a game, Bogar then usually moves into the stands or a pressbox.

Just like in football, he was the coach upstairs unless things are so crowded like in the playoffs that he is just watching on television in the clubhouse.

“We kid around about being the eye in the sky,” he said. “I can see how we're supposed to be aligned offensively and defensively.”

For example, Bogar has been told to watch double play positioning by Akinori Iwamura, who made the transition from playing third base to second this year.

The “eye in the sky” also has the best view of seeing how teams make relay throws and maybe anything given away on pickoff moves.

This is not a case of being allowed to talk on headsets like football coaches from a pressbox to the sideline.

The discussions come after games.

“We call it our war debriefing after a game,” Bogar said.

Bogar also coordinator spring training workouts and through the year helped scouting advance upcoming opponents through newspapers and Internet.

Of course, that work intensifies now.

The Rays had seen plenty of the Red Sox during the season.

Now they are getting ready for the Philadelphia Phillies, whom they did not play during the season.

“We have our advance scouts who have been working on that,” Bogar said. “All the information being sent into it, I've been looking it over and trying to find the nuggets. Our advance scout has been following the Phillies exclusively. You also draw on other people and the contacts you've had who have played the Phillies.”

This chance is coming after Bogar compiled a 250-168 managerial record in the minors after his playing days ended after playing 12 games in the 2001 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A .409 hitter with 17 home runs in 1987 for Eastern before compiling a .228 average as a defensive specialist infielder in the majors, Bogar was the 2005 South Atlantic League Manager of the Year guiding the Astros' Class A Lexington Legends to a league best record and was promoted to AA in 2006 where he was the Eastern league Manager of the Year.

Contacts with Gerry Hunsicker that began when Bogar was with the Astros 20 years ago helped get Bogar to the Tampa Bay where Hunsicker is now an assistant to the general manager.

“I'd really like to be able to manage someday,” Bogar said. “Not only is that my goal but this job is sort of like an internship with that. I've gotten to sit in a lot of meetings with Joe Madden. Anything I would gain knowledge wise would help.”

Who knew last spring this would also put a World Series on Bogar's résumé.