Decorated Class of Newcomers to Guide IL In 2006
Published on February 22, 2006 under International League (IL1) News Release
Eight of the fourteen International League clubs welcome new field managers for the 2006 season, as just six skippers are returning to the post they held a year ago. Most of the newcomers are new to Triple-A Baseball, but the incoming group brings a plethora of league championships and Manager of the Year awards on their respective resumes.
Five of the eight new managers will be making their Triple-A debut this April, and just one member of the group has spent more than one season in Minor League Baseball's highest classification. Dave Miley takes the helm of the Columbus Clippers having already managed eight seasons at the Triple-A level, including four with Indianapolis and four with Louisville. John Russell and John Tamargo will head the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Durham clubs, respectively. Each man has managed one successful campaign in the Pacific Coast League. Russell guided the 2002 Edmonton Trappers to the PCL Championship. Four years earlier Tamargo's New Orleans Zephyrs brought home both the PCL and Triple-A Championships after defeating Buffalo in the inaugural Triple-A World Series.
Each of the five managers set to make their Triple-A debut has previously won a league championship and a Manager of the Year award.
* Mike Basso (Syracuse) led his New Hampshire Fisher Cats to the Eastern League Championship in 2004, marking the second straight season he was honored as his circuit's top field manager (Florida State League, 2003).
* Stan Cliburn (Rochester) also won an Eastern League title, his coming in 2001 with the New Britain Rock Cats. Cliburn's club went 87-55, earning him Manager of the Year honors.
* Torey Lovullo (Buffalo) was 2005's Eastern League Manager of the Year after his Akron club went 84-58 on their way to the League title. He also won a championship and Manager of the Year honors in 2003 with the Carolina League's Kinston Indians.
* Razor Shines (Charlotte) was the 2005 Southern League Manager of the Year, leading his Birmingham club to an 82-57 mark. Two years earlier Shines led the Class-A Winston-Salem Warthogs to the Carolina League Championship.
* Brian Snitker (Richmond) led Myrtle Beach to the Carolina League Championship in 1999 and again in 2000, both times bringing home the circuit's Manager of the Year Award.
The IL's six returning skippers are no strangers to league titles or personal awards themselves, having won a combined six championships and six league Manager of the Year awards. 2005's IL Manager of the Year Larry Parrish returns for his fifth season in Toledo, where last year he guided the Mud Hens to their first Governors' Cup title since 1967. Ken Oberkfell will once again guide the Norfolk Tides after being named Baseball America's 2005 Minor League Manager of the Year.
The International League will again include some of Minor League Baseball's most experienced managers. Ottawa's Dave Trembley enters his 20th season as a skipper just shy of 1,300 career wins. Rick Sweet returns to Louisville for his second season with the Bats, and his 18th overall as a Minor League manager. Pawtucket's Ron Johnson should win his 1,000th game this season, which will be his 15th overall and fourth at the Triple-A level. Trent Jewett of Indianapolis enters his 13th year as a Minor League manager. 2006 will be his ninth season at the helm of Pittsburgh's Triple-A club.
All told, the 14 International League skippers enter 2006 with over 160 seasons of combined Minor League managing experience. Two, Miley and Parrish, have also managed in the Major Leagues. Detailed sketches on each manager follow.
International League Stories from February 22, 2006
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- Decorated Class of Newcomers to Guide IL In 2006 - IL1
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