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Miami Marlins new manager feels responsibility to bring out the best in the team

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CBS News Miami Live

MIAMI - Clayton McCullough, the new manager of the Miami Marlins, is still settling into his new digs in Jupiter.

"Okay, I've got a pretty good beat on the lay of the land and I'll take a turn and think wait a minute I need to go back the other way," he said.

Before spring training starts, McCullough's day-to-day includes checking on players who arrived early for some extra work.

"I'll come in and help do some work in the cage. A lot of it is I just enjoying watching guys get their work in," he said.

McCullough believes it's the attention to the little things that will lead to big success.

"Every team has their challenges and their difficulties. We'll worry less about the outside noise of others and think about what we need to focus on. What do we need to focus on and improve upon at an individual level and as a collective," he said.

"Players only have one career. They only have one shot at it, so you realize the magnitude and responsibility we all have to be our best version for them," he added.

McCullough's baseball philosophy comes from seven years as a minor league manager and then another ten working for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He said his baseball roots come from his dad, who is a Hall of Fame scout.

"You can bounce stuff off of him that you really can't do with a lot of other people. He's been in this business, he knows what he's looking at," he said.

"How nice is that to have?" asked CBS Miami's Mike Cugno.

"It's very nice," he replied. "You need some people who you can just go back to and just sometimes it's just somebody that'll just listen. It's not that my dad would always have the best answer. It is just the ability to know I can just pick up the phone, you know he's going to answer and listen to how things are, and reel back in your perspective when things start to get scattered."

That perspective can be found in his new office. While McCullough hasn't had much time to decorate, there are some family photos on display and a letter from his dad pinned to a wall.

"They came up and spent Christmas with us and I found in my bag shortly after they left a letter he had written me. Some encouragement. Some being a dad, which was really cool I thought. It's a nice thing to put up there. It will be very easy, I'm sure, at times to get, with everything going on, you get lost in your way. (It's nice to have) Some anchor points to come back to. It was a real thoughtful letter. I thought it was a good first piece to put there," McCullough said.

He said in the letter that there is a special quote.

"This is a quote by Ben Hogan. 'As you walk down the fairway of life you must take time to smell the roses for you only get to play one round'. It's like enjoy and also appreciate how awesome this opportunity is. We only get one shot at this type of career and opportunity," he said.

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