azcentral sports Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:06 AM

There are two scenarios involving Mark Grace this spring, and the way he sees it, he can't lose either way.

One possibility: Spring training ends, the Diamondbacks relocate downtown and he sticks around at Salt River Fields, working with younger players and preparing for his second year as a minor league coach.

And then there's this scenario: Grace gets the call to the big leagues once more, in the summer he turns 50, this time as a member of manager Kirk Gibson's coaching staff.

It could happen.

Though his official position is hitting coach for the short-season Hillsboro Hops, Grace has spent the entirety of spring training in big-league camp acting as the de facto No. 2 hitting coach behind Turner Ward.

Where Grace goes will come down to what happens with catcher Henry Blanco. In camp on a minor-league deal, Blanco is trying to win the backup catcher's job. If he doesn't make the team, he has been told he'll be added to the coaching staff. If he makes the team, it could open the door for Grace.

After helping the Diamondbacks win the 2001 World Series as a player, Grace spent 81/2 seasons as the team's television color analyst before being arrested and charged with two DUIs in a 15-month span.

Grace still sounds embarrassed by what happened and thankful not only to the Diamondbacks organization for giving him another opportunity, this time as a coach, but also to the people around him. His driving privileges still revoked — as they will be for up to 10 more months — he's a burden on his friends.

“I can promise you,” Grace said, “it ain't happening again.”

But the weird part is, the DUIs might have led him to a better place. He enjoyed broadcasting, but nothing like coaching.

“There's something about wearing that uniform that's very special to a player and a former player,” he said. “The adrenaline rush, living vicariously through your hitters and pitchers. The competitive juices certainly flow where they didn't in the broadcast booth.”

Long talked about as a future manager, Grace is finally taking the steps that might get him there.

“I truly believe that everything happens for a reason,” Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall said. “It's unfortunate that he experienced what he did. But it's allowed him to shift gears and go down a path that may very well lead to him being a manager.”

Grace doesn't seem to want to think about the possibility. He pointed out managers are trending younger. He said no one has ever called him about a manager's job and he's not sure anyone ever will.

“Managing right now is the furthest thing from my mind,” he said. “Right now, I'm just doing the best I can to help Turner out.”

Ward says he and Grace are getting along well. Players say Grace's knowledge from a 16-year big league career carries immense valuable. And Hall believes the quick-witted Grace would add a personality component that's missing on the coaching staff.

“He's somebody who's important to our organization,” Hall said. “I like having former players around in uniform. I think they add to our history, add to our fan experience. They add to the necessity of teaching and interacting with our younger players. He fits all of those categories perfectly. Mark Grace, you can tell, he has a great relationship with our fans, a tremendous relationship with our players. He's doing a great job.”

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.