Eric Campbell was a man in transition, reflecting on a 12-year playing career in professional baseball which seemed to have ended after he spent last season in the Oakland A's organization. He hoped to stay in the game somehow, with a measure of uncertainty creeping in.

On Thursday, the Norwich Sea Unicorns, a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League who will play their home games at Dodd Stadium, announced the hiring of Campbell as their manager. Campbell is a graduate of Norwich Free Academy and resides in Colchester with his wife Kristin, meaning that Campbell found his place in baseball without having to leave home.

"Just, I was excited," Campbell said of the new gig. "It was almost like a perfect-case scenario, a team like that opening up in my hometown in a time I needed my baseball fix.

"(Coaching) does occupy my mind now. I get that kind of baseball. I'm back in baseball is pretty much what it came down to. There were a couple of months where I wasn't really sure what was going to happen. It's great for me, for Norwich, for baseball in the area."

The Norwich team announced it was joining the Futures League on Tuesday. Dodd Stadium was without a team last season due to COVID-19. Then, late last year, the Sea Unicorns found out they had lost their affiliation with the Detroit Tigers following a reorganization of minor league baseball which eliminated the New York-Penn League.

The Sea Unicorns will open the season May 26 at New Britain and will play their home opener May 31 in the eight-team wooden bat league featuring top collegiate players.

A few local players, including East Lyme's Matt Malcom (Eastern Connecticut State) and Waterford's Payton Sutman (Holy Cross) are already listed on the New Britain roster, but Campbell said as he begins looking around there are plenty of players to fill out the Norwich lineup.

"We're late (starting) but we're going to have a great team," Campbell said. "We'll be competitive. There's plenty of kids out there. I was a little nervous it would be tough but these guys are all hungry to play. They missed the whole season last year and some missed it this year. This team will be so competitive."

Campbell, 34, was drafted by the New York Mets in the eighth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft following a standout career at Boston College and played for the Mets, Miami Marlins and A's, as well as for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan.

Last year he was a member of the A's 60-man player pool, from which the Oakland club was able to draw during the shortened major league season. Campbell spent last year's spring training in Mesa, Arizona, went to a second spring training in Oakland when the season resumed and finished in San Jose, California, where the remainder of the 60-man roster was stationed — "pretty much like a year-long spring training," he said.

Campbell hit .221 with seven home runs and 41 RBI in 196 career at-bats in the majors, hitting .310 with 45 homers at the Triple-A level.

He calls coaching his "second career," but it's not like it's a stretch for Campbell, whose father, Duke, was the longtime assistant baseball coach at NFA. Campbell, as a veteran minor leaguer, also spent time serving as a mentor to some of the younger players he encountered.

"I learned quick that I loved doing it," Campbell said. "Especially in Triple-A when you're the older guy, that's part of your responsibility. Once you start working with a couple guys and you see them improve ... I was still competing and still trying to make it, but when those guys make it, you feel like you had a small part in it."

Campbell graduated from NFA in 2005 and was a member of the Wildcats' 2003 Class LL state championship team alongside Sea Unicorns general manager Dave Schermerhorn.

"We are thrilled to have Eric lead our team on the field in 2021," Schermerhorn said in a press release. "His name is one that is very familiar to fans in eastern Connecticut with good reason. His impressive experience as a collegiate and professional player paired with his incredible baseball IQ made him our top choice to serve as manager from the start of this process."

Campbell said he went through "every emotion in the world" thinking of leaving his playing career behind.

"Sad to happy to looking for your next job," he said. "You just get the calls where you can read between the lines, 'We might be interested if this happens and this happens.' You get tired of living in that state of limbo. I've had the player part, now it's the coaching part. I'm happy. I'm thankful. ... It's nice to sleep in my own bed."

v.fulkerson@theday.com