Big League Staff Announced for Harrisburg
Published on February 6, 2004 under Eastern League (EL1)
Harrisburg Senators News Release
The Harrisburg Senators and the Montreal Expos announced today that Dave Machemer will return to manage the Senators for the 2004 season. Machemer will be joined on the 2004 staff by Pitching Coach Mark Grater, Hitting Coach Rob Ducey and Athletic Trainer Rich Ramirez.
For the first time in the Senators' modern history, the team will boast three staff members, all with time as a player in the Major Leagues. The 52-year old Machemer played briefly in the major leagues appearing in 10 games during the 1978 season with California and 19 games with Detroit in 1979. Machemer was an infielder.
Machemer has managed 14 seasons in the minor leagues and the 2004 campaign will be his second with Harrisburg. Overall, Machemer has a career managerial record of 1005-964. He passed the 1000 win total late in the 2003 season putting him in a select group to reach that milestone. He joined former Senators' managers Marc Bombard, Dave Trembley, Dave Huppert and Pat Kelly in reaching 1000 wins as a minor league skipper.
"That was special moment for me, reaching 1000 victories, but as a team we had a disappointing year," Machemer said from his home in St. Joseph, MI. "I am really excited about coming back to Harrisburg and putting that team back in contention, where it belongs. The professional way the operation is run in Harrisburg and the terrific fan base adds to the excitement."
This off-season, Machemer managed in the Venezuela League where he led his Caribes de Oriente team to the league finals.
Grater comes to Harrisburg after two seasons with the single-A team at Brevard County. In 2002, Grater was the pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Expos. Prior to joining the Expos, Mark was a pitching coach with the St. Louis Cardinals Organization for five seasons.
Grater also pitched for St. Louis in 1991 and Detroit Tigers in 1993 appearing in a total of nine games as a reliever with a 0-0 record and a 3.38 ERA. Grater was a 24th round selection of the Cardinals in the 1986 draft out of Florida International University. He currently resides in Monaca, PA.
Ducey, who was born in Toronto, Canada, hit .242 with 31 homers and 146 RBI's for Toronto, California, Texas, Seattle, Philadelphia and Montreal in his 13-year big-league career. He was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1984. Ducey will be in his first season as a coach with the Montreal Organization.
Athletic Trainer Rich Ramirez returns to Harrisburg for his third straight season. He was also Harrisburg's trainer for the 1994 season.
Eastern League Stories from February 6, 2004
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- Big League Staff Announced for Harrisburg - Harrisburg Senators
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.
