SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

2011 Power Field Staff Announced

Published on December 22, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


CHARLESTON, WV (December 22, 2010) - The Pittsburgh Pirates, parent club to the West Virginia Power, have announced the 2011 field staff for each of their Minor League Baseball affiliates. The Power are pleased to welcome a new manager and coach to Charleston and the South Atlantic League in addition to the return of pitching coach Jeff Johnson.

Gary Robinson will take over the managerial duties for the West Virginia Power, a Class-A affiliate of the Pirates. Robinson has spent the past two seasons at the helm of the State College Spikes in the NewYork-Penn League, compiling a 71-80 record.

Dave Howard joins the Power staff as a coach for 2011. Howard has served as a coach for the Pirates Advanced-A affiliate during each of the last two seasons, spending 2009 with Lynchburg and 2010 as a member of the Bradenton staff.

Jeff Johnson enters his third season as the pitching coach for the Power and fourth straight season in the South Atlantic League. Under Johnson's tutelage, five members of the 2010 Power staff advanced to the Florida State League.

Former Power manager Gary Green will serve as Pittsburgh's Minor League Infield Coordinator. Former coaches Edgar Varela and Josh Bonifay have moved on as well. Varela will serve as a coach on the State College Spikes staff, while Bonifay has accepted a position as a hitting coach for Greeneville in the Houston Astros organization.

The West Virginia Power open the 2011 season on April 7 at Appalachian Power Park against the Savannah Sand Gnats. Full and partial season ticket packages as well as several mini-plans are currently available.

For more information contact the Power front office at (304) 344-2287 or visit www.wvpower.com .

2011 West Virginia Power Field Staff Biographies

Manager Gary Robinson - Born November 19, 1952 in Concord, NC...Resides in Fort Mills, SC...Has two children; daughter Kristen (28) and son Michael (25)...Entering his third season with the Pirates organization and his first with the Power after two years as the manager of the State College Spikes...Worked the previous 10 years for Major League Baseball as an umpire supervisor and evaluator of Triple-A umpires while also serving the Union County school system (outside Charlotte) as a school administrator...Was a coach for the GCL Expos in 1998, working with Manager Frank Kremblas, who is now the Pirates Coordinator of Instruction...Spent eight years (1991-98) as a scout with San Francisco, Seattle and Philadelphia...Served as head coach of the UNC-Charlotte baseball program from 1982-91, posting a 280-244-3 record during his tenure...Led UNCC to 30 or more wins five times and had 34 of his players signed to professional baseball contracts...Was the 1984 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year...Worked for three seasons as a minor league umpire in the Midwest and Southern Leagues prior to his head coaching stint at UNC-Charlotte...Was a college assistant coach at the University of Tennessee from 1977-79...Played college baseball at Gardner-Webb College (now Gardner-Webb University) and was a First-Team All-American in 1975; his .466 batting average in 1974 still stands as a school record...Was inducted into the Gardner-Webb Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991...Earned bachelor's degree from Gardner-Webb and a master's degree in 1975 from Appalachian State, where he also coached baseball from 1975-77...Is a 1971 graduate of Garringer High School in Charlotte, NC.

Coach Dave Howard - Born May 10, 1958 in Northboro, MA...Resides in Lutz, FL, with wife Sherri...Has two daughters; Samantha (20) and Gracie Mae (8)...Entering in his third season with Pittsburgh organization...Spent 2009 campaign as a coach with Lynchburg and 2010 in the same role with Bradenton...Worked as the Major League promotions manager for Easton Sports the last three years...Managed Hudson Valley, Tampa Bay's affiliate in the New York-Penn League, for five years (2001-05)...Began managerial career with Princeton in 1998 and led the Rookie Devil Rays to a first-place finish in the Appalachian League...Has career managerial record of 210-229 (.478)...Spent two years (1999-2000) as the coach of Tampa Prep School in Tampa, FL...Also worked as a coach in the New York Yankees farm system for Class-A Tampa from 1994-97...Served as the Hitting Coach and Third Base Coach for the University of Florida from 1987-1994...Earned both his bachelor's and master's degree from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA, where he also coached for six seasons (1981-86).

Pitching Coach Jeff Johnson - Born August 4, 1966 in Durham, NC...Resides in Charlotte, NC, with wife Deirdre and his two daughters; Jaden (7) and Sarah (5)...Entering in his fourth season with Pittsburgh organization and his third straight with West Virginia...Served in same capacity with Hickory in 2008...Originally selected by Yankees in sixth round of 1988 June draft...Former left-handed pitcher made Major League debut as a starter with New York on 6/5/91...Picked up first Major League win in third start on 6/19/91 at Toronto...Spent total of three seasons in the Majors with the Yankees and went 8-16 with a 6.52 ERA (182.1ip/132er) in 38 games (33 starts)...Appeared in final big league game on 6/12/93 at Milwaukee...Pitched with Charlotte (Indians' AAA) in 1994 and spent 1995 in Toronto organization...Is a 1984 graduate of South Granville High School in Creedmoor, NC...Played four years of baseball at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he graduated in 1988 with a degree in economics.

Check out the Charleston Dirty Birds Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from December 22, 2010


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.

OurSports Central