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ApL Princeton WhistlePigs

2014 Princeton Rays Coaching Staff Announced

January 27, 2014 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Princeton WhistlePigs News Release


Danny Sheaffer will return for a second straight season in 2014 as manager of the Princeton Rays. His return was part of a larger January 27 coaching staff announcement by the team that revealed he will be joined by Reinaldo Ruiz as hitting coach and Jose Gonzalez as pitching coach to round out the coaching staff.

This upcoming season will mark the second year wearing the Rays' colors for the 52-year old Sheaffer and his 34th season in professional baseball both as a player and a coach. Prior to joining the Tampa Bay organization, he had spent the prior six seasons in various positions with the Houston Astros, primarily as their minor league roving catching coordinator. Sheaffer is a resident of nearby Mount Airy, NC.

Guiding a young P-Rays' squad in 2013, Sheaffer did a masterful job leading them to win 18 of their last 31 games after the team stumbled out of the gate with a 7-30 record to start the year. That final 31-game stretch featured a franchise-tying, seven-game, winning streak that included back-to-back three-game series sweeps over the Danville Braves and the Bristol White Sox.

"I look forward to returning to Princeton, as does my family, for the 2014 Appalachian League season. It will be great to see friends that I made from Mercer County last year. As usual, I have high expectations for us for the 2014 season," said Sheaffer in conjunction with the announcement.

He is an alumnus of Clemson University and was the first round draft pick (20th overall) of the Boston Red Sox in the 1981 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. He made his major league debut on April 9, 1987 with the Red Sox and was a .232 career hitter in 389 career major league games over a ten-year period from 1987-1997 (playing in seven different MLB seasons) as a catcher and infielder for the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. He was a member of the inaugural 1993 Colorado Rockies team and saw his only postseason action as a major leaguer with the 1996 St. Louis Cardinals.

"We are certainly glad that Danny is returning here to lead our team. His vast baseball background makes him very qualified to take our players and show them what it means to conduct themselves as professionals, both on and off the field. That is so important in their development at this level. He certainly was great to work with last year concerning the things I needed to do my job also," commented P-Rays' general manager Jim Holland while making the announcement.

Ruiz will also return to Princeton for a third consecutive season in 2014 as hitting coach after spending the prior two seasons in the same capacity for the Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York-Penn League. Prior to that, he was a coach in 2009 with Tampa Bay's Gulf Coast League team and as a catching instructor for the Rays' Venezuelan Summer League team in 2007-2008. His eight-year professional playing career was all in the Astros organization with his peak seasons (2003-2005) occurring in nearby Salem, VA.

As for Ruiz, Holland commented that "Ray" always arrives at the ballpark early to assist any hitters that are requesting any early instruction before the daily practice schedule began.

Gonzalez will make his stateside coaching debut this summer in Princeton after spending the previous three seasons filling the role of pitching coach for the Rays' entry in the Dominican Summer League. His 2013 DSL Rays' pitching staff had a sparkling team earned run average of 3.04. The 35-year old resident of Santo Domingo, DR also performed these same duties from 2006-2010 for the DSL Red Sox. As a player, he pitched in the Red Sox farm system for three seasons from 2000-2002, advancing as high as short-season A level Lowell (MA) in 2002. His three-year totals in the minors saw him appear in 19 career games on the mound while posting a 2-1 record and a 3.44 earned run average.

"We are looking forward to Jose being a part of our 2014 coaching staff. We have seen several of his former students like Bruedlin Suero, Jorge Rodriguez, and Oscar Armenta come through here in the past and play key roles for the Princeton Rays," said Holland.

The Princeton Rays' 2014 Appalachian League schedule opens at home on June 19 in a 7:05 p.m. game versus the Bristol Pirates. Persons needing to order tickets, purchase souvenirs, or having further questions can contact the team either by e-mail at princetonrays@frontier.com or by telephoning their office at Hunnicutt Field at (304) 487-2000.

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