FL Evansville Otters

Evansville Otters Announce 2012 Coaching Staff

Published on February 22, 2012 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release


(EVANSVILLE, Indiana) - With Opening Day approaching, Evansville Otters manager Andy McCauley has announced that Charles "Boots" Day, the first manager in Otters history, will return to Evansville as hitting coach and that Brooks Carey will become the club's new pitching coach.

Day, 64, played major league baseball as an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Montreal Expos during his six year stint. In 1971, his best season, Day hit .283 with four home runs and 33 RBIs for the Expos. Day also played for the Evansville Triplets from 1975 to 1978.

fter his playing days, "Boots" managed the Detroit Tigers' rookie team, the Otters and teams in the Cleveland Indians' minor league system. The New York native has also been a hitting instructor for the Cardinals and Kansas City Royals organizations, as well as the hitting coach most recently for the Normal CornBelters of the Frontier League. Day's team last year had the second best batting average and recorded the second most hits among all Frontier League teams.

"Boots is a quality hitting coach with a wealth of knowledge to share with our players," said McCauley. "He is a hard worker and will be a strong asset to our offensive lineup. " Boots is excited to return to historic Bosse Field, where he guided the Otters to a 31-38 record in 1995.

"I lived in Evansville for about 10 years and still have a lot of friends there," Day said. "I like the way Andy handles the club and am happy to be coming back."

Pitching coach Brooks Carey also comes to Evansville with Frontier League knowledge and an impressive baseball background.

Brooks was a starting pitcher in the minor leagues and reached AAA with both the Rochester Red Wings and the Indianapolis Indians during the 1985 season. Carey continued his career in baseball as a successful coach. He won back to back championships with Key West High School (Florida) as a pitching coach and another one as head coach. The Florida native has worked the last four seasons as pitching coach with former Sussex and Normal CornBelters manager Hal Lanier.

Carey won the 2008 Can-Am League championship with the Sussex Skyhawks and worked with one of the top pitching staffs in the Frontier League over the past few seasons. Last year, the CornBelters finished fourth in earned run average under Carey's guidance and accumulated the third most strikeouts in the league.

"Brooks is a very experienced pitching coach with a great ability of evaluating talent," the Otters manager said. "Carey will be relied on to assess our current pitchers, as well as finding new arms for spring training and throughout the season. Brooks has been very successful with his staffs in the past and we are very confident his success will continue here in Evansville."

Along with Carey and Day, the Evansville Otters will also benefit from two spring training instructors in Rob Watson and Phil Britton.

Watson joined the Evansville staff in 2010 when manager Andy McCauley took over as manager. He has served as pitching coach in the past while also helping hitters and infielders a year ago. In spring training, Watson will be working with hitters and infielders again.

"Wattie has been a big part of finding players in the past, and will be valuable during the spring by evaluating the talent we bring in and determining final roster," McCauley said. "Rob has a strong presence on the field and great ability to connect with players. "

Britton arrived in Evansville last year after a trade with Fargo-Moorhead of the American Association. The Olney, Illinois, native batted .262 and served as catcher with a veteran presence on the 2011 Otters team.

"We are looking to have Phil come in during the spring training to work with our catchers," said Evansville's manager. "Phil lives locally, and had an extensive catching career that he will be able to draw from in order to assist our catchers."

Opening Day for the Otters at historic Bosse Field is Friday, May 18, 2012, when Evansville hosts the Washington Wild Things. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CDT, and season tickets are on sale now.

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