Shakeup Leads to New Hitting Coach for Chiefs
January 15, 2008 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
PEORIA, IL- The Chicago Cubs and Peoria Chiefs have announced that former Chiefs first baseman and hitting coach Ricardo Media will return to the Chiefs as hitting coach in 2008. Carmelo Martinez was originally announced as the Chiefs hitting coach but he will move into the role of Cubs Latin American Field Coordinator. Also, the Chiefs have announced they will raffle and silent auction memorabilia items at this Thursday's Cubs Caravan to raise money for the Donnie and Devin Veal Trust Fund.
Ricardo played first base for the Chiefs from 1991-1993 hitting .263 in 125 games in 1992 with five homers, 27 doubles and 67 RBI. He played in the Cubs organization through 1994 before becoming a scout for the Boston Red Sox in 1997. He joined the Cubs as a scout in Latin America and a coach with the Dominican (Rookie) club before moving up to Mesa in 2000 as a Rookie ball coach. Medina served as the hitting coach in Boise in 2004 and with the Chiefs in 2005. He returned to Boise in 2006 and served as a coach in Mesa last season. The Panama native worked as a coach for the Panama National Team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006 and was the Manager of the National Team in November's Baseball World Cup held in Taiwan.
Martinez, a former Cub and Padres outfielder moves to the role of Latin American Field Coordinator for the Cubs. Former Chiefs Manager and Hitting Coach Julio Garcia had filled that role in the organization but recently took another position with the Cincinnati Reds organization.
Donnie and Devin Veal Trust Fund Auction & Raffle
The Chiefs have also announced plans to raise money at Thursday's Cubs Caravan for the Donnie and Devin Veal Trust Fund. On November 10, 2007, nearly three years to the day when his mother died of cancer, Veal's father was killed during a scuba diving trip. Without life insurance to help Donnie and his younger brother Devin, a trust fund has been set up. The Chiefs will have memorabilia for silent auction during the Caravan and will also be raffling tickets for $5 each or 5 for $20 for a signed Kerry Wood home Cubs jersey. The items up for silent auction include: Signed Derrek Lee Cubs home jersey, Ernie Banks signed base, Ryne Sandberg signed Cubs hat, a Ron Santo signed baseball, a Rocky Roquet signed game worn #35 Chiefs home jersey and a Chiefs 2007 game worn road jersey signed by all Caravan attendees.. The silent auction items will be posted at the Chiefs Boosters table and at the Chiefs Ticket Table. All proceeds will go to the Donnie and Devin Veal Trust Fund. Tickets to the Caravan are still available with the doors opening at the Riverplex at 4:15 pm. Autographs begin at 5:45 pm with Ted Lilly, Geovany Soto, Tyler Colvin, Rocky Roquet, Alan Trammell, Larry Rothschild, Randy Bush, Oneri Fleita and Cory Provus as guests.
Donnie Veal was the Chiefs ace pitcher during the first half of the 2006 season going 5-3 with a 2.63 ERA in 14 starts while leading the Chiefs to a first place finish. He spent the rest of 2006 in Daytona and all of 2007 with the Double-A Tennessee Smokies. Devin is currently a freshman at the University of Arizona
Fans wishing to join the Chiefs and the Cubs in donating to the trust fund may do so by sending checks payable to the Donnie and Devin Veal Trust Fund, Smith Barney/Citigroup, 701 Market Street, Suite 1500, St. Louis, MO. 63101, Attn: Brad Rippelmeyer.
Ticket Information
Season ticket packages for the 2008 season are currently on sale. Ticket packages include 70-game package, 35-game package, 17-game package, and a Build Your Own package (minimum 12 games). Group tickets are also on sale for all O'Brien Field party areas and the seating bowl for all 70 home games. Individual game tickets will go on sale in March 2008. For more information or to purchase season or group packages, call the Chiefs account executives at (309)-680-4000. The entire 2008 promotional schedule will be released at a later date. For more information check the official team website at www.peoriachiefs.com.
• Discuss this story on the Midwest League message board...
Midwest League Stories from January 15, 2008
- Shakeup Leads to New Hitting Coach for Chiefs - Peoria Chiefs
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
