Cambridge’s Scott Thorman takes on new role with Kansas City Royals

Scott Thorman continues to climb the ladder with the Kansas City Royals.

The Cambridge native was promoted to minor league field coordinator for the Major League Baseball club after managing the team’s Triple-A affiliate, the Omaha Storm Chasers, last season.

In the new venture, the 41-year-old will serve as a mobile coach, helping organize spring training, major camps and fall leagues, and traveling to all of the team’s minor-league partners during the summer to provide guidance and support to players and staff to offer .

“I think it will be a change, but at the same time I’m looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “It’s a little less downtime. I think I will miss that. But it’s an opportunity to see more of the organization and be another helping hand.”

Thorman retired in 2012 after a 13-year playing career, most notably with the Atlanta Braves, who selected him 30th overall in the 2000 MLB draft.

Over the past decade, he’s made an even bigger name for himself as a manager in the Kansas City system, where he’s worked at all levels, winning multiple minor league titles in the process.

So successful was Thorman that he was interviewed for the vacant managerial position at the Royals late last year.

“It was an extremely exciting experience,” Thorman said of the opportunity, though former Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro eventually landed the job.

“I learned a lot about the process and about myself,” Thorman said. “I feel like it can only benefit me if I move forward.”

Work on the diamond is already underway.

A few players and prospects are trickling into the team’s minor-league facility, but pitchers and catchers aren’t officially reporting until next month.

Many of them were coached by Thorman at some point in their careers, but the forever humble former Preston High School student can’t say how many.

“I don’t have an exact number,” he said. “We have a saying here that all our successes are connected. Any player who makes it into the big leagues is an organizational asset and not just a specific person. It takes a village.”

The Royals have produced some of the game’s most exciting youngsters in recent years, including shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., catcher/outfielder MJ Melendez and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, among others.

“As a small market, we have to produce our own big leagues,” Thorman said. “We’re excited to see what’s coming and what’s out there right now.”

And while he’s focused on his new role with the royals, Thorman isn’t closing the door on an eventual managerial job.

Few Canadians have ever reached this level in the major leagues.

Last fall, his compatriot Canuck Rob Thomson had his temporary tag removed and was officially named manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, making him the first Canadian to hold the title since 1934.

“What he’s doing is incredible for baseball right now,” Thorman said. “It’s amazing to see that unfold in front of us, how he gets the opportunity and succeeds with it. Canadians are very proud of baseball.”

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