A 19th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in in 2008, David Macias moved almost immediately into player development after playing his last minor league game in 2011. The coaching route eventually led him back to his alma mater, where he helped Vanderbilt win two national championships. He was climbing the college ranks when old Vanderbilt connections — Ryan Flaherty was Macias’ college roommate — landed Macias on A.J. Preller’s radar when the Padres were looking for a first base coach before the 2022 season.
(Editor’s note: This Q&A was edited for length and clarity).
Let’s start with collision at first base that sidelined Luis Arraez for a week. Mike Shildt brought up the idea of the double base — one for the runner, the other for the first baseman. You’re at first base. You see the velocity of these players running toward the same spot. What do you think of that as a safety measure?
A: I don’t think it’s a bad idea to at least bring up. These are grown men, and a lot of them are big and different sizes. But when you’re going full speed and two guys have a collision, it’s not good. It was actually really scary to see that happen … to Arraez. I think anytime we’re thinking about anything that might protect these guys, I think is a good idea. I think you’re seeing it in the college game. So I don’t know how far-fetched it is, but certainly a scary moment, for sure, for all of us.
What was that moment with Arraez like for you?
A: I saw the whole thing. I saw him for what perceived to be him being knocked out. I mean, I saw him, the collision. And the next thing you know, I saw kind of a lifeless body on the ground. It was so scary. My instincts were just to go to him, but not touch him, not knowing what happened, but just scary. Just so grateful that he was OK.
Let’s talk about your path. You were in player development in Major League Baseball when you decided to coach in college. What led you in that direction?
A: It’s a good question. I feel like I’ve been pretty well-versed in a lot of different areas in baseball, from the front office to strength coach to college coach and now here. My coaching stints in college, I played at Vanderbilt, so I’ve got a lot of pride there and a good relationship with the head coach. There’s been opportunities where there’s been an opening there and always enjoyed my time there and still do. At that time, there were easy decisions to go back. It’s a program that I think a lot of and have a lot of respect for and take a lot of pride in.
Did you start thinking about coaching when you were with the Cubs?
A: My first job (after playing with the Cubs), I took a strength conditioning coaching job with the Cubs. That was my other interest and path. My thought was to be a strength coach and go that route in baseball. I just saw there was a need for Spanish-speaking strength coaches that can really push the needle forward for all the international players. That was the initial path. Kind of doing that and coaching on the side, I was like, ‘You know what? I think if I just go the coach route, I’ll get all my fixes.’ I guess always that thought I would just be in baseball, be in some sort of active sports, strength and conditioning, some sort of lines like that.
But you were a sociology major, right?
A: Yeah, if Vanderbilt did have some sort of kinesiology or sports science I would have been all over that … but they didn’t at the time. … Sociology was just one of those classes I took early on that I had just a lot of interest in, like behaviors and how to treat people.
Seems like sociology would serve you well in a clubhouse and managing players and different personalities.
A: Yeah, and you know what? You don’t need a sociology degree to get your experience with how to coach players. You get that through experience, but it’s an ongoing thing. You’re just continuing to learn how to get players to click. You’re continuing to learn how they learn, how they process things. It’s a dance. You’re constantly learning how to do it, which is fun. It really is.
You won two national championships as a coach at Vanderbilt. Where do you keep those rings? Do you wear them?
A: No, I don’t wear them. They’re at my house. My kids probably wear them more than I do.
You started as a volunteer coach. How does that work? Do you have to have a day job to make ends meet early on?
A: It depends on where you’re at. If you’re at a mid-major or in the SEC, some volunteer coaches probably do have a day job. I was fortunate enough at Vanderbilt, being in a really good place where there was some money that was made through camps that the head coach can now pay me through that. I made some income working camps in the summer and working camps in the fall, doing lessons. So, yeah, there really is kind of a day job. It’s usually giving lessons, or just really kind of working the Vanderbilt baseball camps. That’s kind of how you make your income as a volunteer coach in college.
You went from Vanderbilt to a brief stint at East Carolina when the Padres came calling. How did that go down?
A: I went in the summer (of 2021). I got there in July and got right into recruiting for ECU. I ended up moving to Greenville, N.C. We were in a spot where we had two kids and the third on the way, and we’re like, this is the new life here. We’re going to be in North Carolina. We actually really enjoyed it and really enjoyed the program, and then I got a call in December from A.J. Preller and kind of really just spun our world upside down a little bit.
How did you land on Preller’s radar?
A: In this game, there’s connections, relationships that are made early on that continue to develop. (Former Padres coach) Ryan Flaherty was my roommate in college, another Vanderbilt guy that was here at the time. Then, A.J., we crossed paths a little bit over the years. Vanderbilt being the program that it is, a lot of pro teams do seek out (coach) Tim Corbin for potential coaches, scouts, because of the success they’ve had. I think it’s just a combination of all those things.
How much did it take you by surprise? You had just started at East Carolina. Don’t imagine you knew the Padres were even looking for a first base coach.
A: That’s right. I was pretty much nose to the ground with recruiting for ECU and the family. So, very surprising.
Was that an awkward conversation to have with Cliff Godwin, ECU’s head coach?
A: Yeah, it wasn’t easy, because I have a lot of respect for him. Obviously in December, having a conversation with him that, you might need to find somebody to replace me. I never want to put anybody in that spot. But at the end of the day, I think he understood the opportunity, and to this day I have a great relationship with him. He was actually one of my coaches in college, so it wasn’t easy, but it was a decision that was thought thoroughly through for my family and myself, but I think he understood the opportunity and I’m grateful I’ve taken it and hopefully I can just keep doing this.
You’ve had a lot of different kinds of coaching jobs. Is there anything you still want to do on the bucket list in baseball?
A: I don’t know if I have a bucket list. I think what my bucket list would be is to just really keep getting better at what I’m doing right now. I think the first base coach, just like any coaching job, there’s so many intricacies, there’s so many strategies, so many situations in baseball that really the only way to get good at it is just to keep doing it. I just want to keep getting experience, keep getting better at it.
