Menhart Named Pitching Coach
Published on February 21, 2006 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
SAVANNAH, Ga. -Former Major Leaguer Paul Menhart has been named the Sand Gnats pitching coach for the 2006 season. Menhart will replace Terry Clark who the Gnats' parent club originally named the Gnats' pitching coach on January 11. Clark has since accepted a position in the Texas Rangers organization.
Menhart spent the last two seasons as pitching coach for the Western Carolina University Catamounts of the Southern Conference where he also played three years of college baseball. The Toronto Blue Jays drafted Menhart in the eighth round of the 1990 amateur draft. He made his major league debut in 1995 with Toronto where one of his teammates was former Sand Gnats manager Randy Knorr.
Another new face in the Sand Gnats clubhouse will be trainer Atsushi Toriida. Toriida will replace Sean Wayne who was originally scheduled to return for his second season in Savannah. Wayne will instead head to Potomac, home of the Nationals' Carolina League affiliate. Toriida spent the last three seasons as the trainer for the Vermont Expos, the Nationals' New-York Penn League affiliate.
Toriida and Menhart will both join Manager Bobby Williams and Hitting Coach Jerry Browne as they open the season on April 6, in Asheville. The Gnats' first home game is scheduled for April 11, 7:05 against the Rome Braves. Tickets are available on-line at www.sandgnats.com or by calling the Sand Gnats ticket office at 912-351-9150.
South Atlantic League Stories from February 21, 2006
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- Menhart Named Pitching Coach - Savannah Sand Gnats
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