CarL1 Lynchburg Hillcats

Pirates Announce 2009 Hillcats Staff

Published on December 19, 2008 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


Pittsburgh, PA - Today the Pirates announced the Hillcats field staff for the upcoming 2009 season. Lynchburg's next manager will be former major league infielder P.J. Forbes. Forbes managed Reading last season, the Phillies Double-A affiliate. Fellow former major leaguer Wally Whitehurst (pitching coach) and Dave Howard (hitting coach) will join Forbes in the dugout for the upcoming campaign. Trainer Bryan Housand will return for his fourth straight season in the Hill City and strength coach Derek Franklin returns for his second consecutive year with Lynchburg. Former Hillcats manager Jeff Branson has been named the hitting coach for the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the club.

Forbes will begin his first year in the Pirates organization this season, after managing in the Phillies farm system for the past five seasons. The last three years he managed the Reading Phillies, the Double-A affiliate of the World Series champions. He guided them to a 53-89 (.373) mark last season and a 194-229 (.459) record over the course of those three years in the Eastern League. Prior to his time in Reading, he managed the Phillies Low-A affiliate, the Lakewood Blue Claws. In his two years there, Lakewood went a combined 126-149 (.458) in the South Atlantic League.

Before Forbes began his managerial career, he played professionally for 13 years in the Angels, Orioles, Rangers and Phillies organizations. Originally drafted in the 20th round of the 1990 draft by the California Angels, he made his major league debut with the Orioles when he played nine games during the 1998 campaign. The former infielder also played three games with the Phillies in 2001. In 13 minor league seasons he played 1,356 games, collected 1,406 hits, knocked 43 home runs and drove-in 559 runs.

Wally Whitehurst will serve as the Hillcats pitching coach in 2009, which will also be his first season in the Pirates organization. Most recently Whitehurst was the pitching coach for five seasons in the San Diego Padres farm system. Last year he was with the Lake Elsinore Storm (Advanced-A) and in 2007 he coached for the Fort Wayne Wizards (Low-A). Prior to that he spent two seasons with the Eugene Emeralds (Short Season Low-A). In began his coaching career in the Padres system as the pitching coach for the Arizona League Padres in 2004.

Whitehurst enjoyed a 12-year professional career that included parts of seven seasons in the big leagues. The Oakland Athletics took the right handed pitcher in the third round of the 1985 draft. Whitehurst made his major league debut with the New York Mets in 1989. He would spend parts of four seasons with the Mets before getting traded to the San Diego Padres in 1992. He pitched for the Padres in two different seasons and made his final big league appearance with the Yankees in 1996. His final major league numbers included 20 wins, 163 games, a 4.02 ERA and 487 and 3/2 innings. In parts of nine seasons in the minors Whitehurst went 59-46 with a 3.45 ERA.

Dave Howard enters his first season as the Hillcats hitting coach and his first year with the Pirates farm system. He spent four seasons as the manager for the Hudson Valley Renegades from 2001-04 in the Tampa Bay organization. In 1998, he led Princeton to a first place finish in the Appalachian League.

Bryan Housand has spent the last three seasons with the Hillcats, and this will be his ninth year in the Pirates organization. Prior to Lynchburg, Housand had the same title for three seasons with the Hickory Crawdads. He began his time with the Pirates with the Williamsport Crosscutters, where he spent two seasons. His other experience includes serving as a head trainer at the 1999 World Games Special Olympics, working as an athletic trainer at John T. Hoggard High School (Wilmington, NC) and working at Cape Fear Hospital Rehab Center.

Derek Franklin returns for his second straight season with the Hillcats and his fourth year in the Pirates system. In 2007 he had the same title with the State College Spikes and the year prior he worked with the GCL Pirates in Bradenton, Florida.

The Triple-A affiliate of the Pirates, the Indianapolis Indians, will be managed by Frank Kremblas, who has 11 years of managerial experience in the minors and has spent the past four managing the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate in Nashville.

Kremblas' club in Nashville won three straight division titles (2005-07), and in '07, Kremblas took home Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year honors. He was dismissed by the Sounds after his club finished 59-81 this past season.

Interestingly, this marks the second time Kremblas has succeeded Trent Jewett as a Triple-A manager. Jewett served as Nashville's manager until he moved to Indianapolis in 2005, when the Pirates changed affiliations.

The Indians pitching coach will be Ray Searage and last year's Hillcats manager Jeff Branson will serve as the teams hitting coach. In two years in Lynchburg, Branson guided the Hillcats to a combined record of 113-162 (.411).

Matt Walbeck will take over managerial duties for Double-A Altoona. Walbeck returns to Minor League managing after spending the past year as the Rangers' third-base coach. He has four years of experience managing in the Minors and will be joined by a new pitching coach (Dean Treanor) and hitting coach (Ryan Long).

Former college coach Gary Robinson has been hired as the next manager for the short-season State College club. After serving as the head coach at UNC Charlotte from 1981-90, Robinson has since worked as a Minor League coach and as a Major League Baseball umpire supervisor/evaluator at the Triple-A level.

Robinson will be joined in State College by hitting coach Brandon Moore and pitching coach Mike Steele.

The Pirates retained the managers from their other two affiliates, with Gary Green staying with the low Class A club (now in Charleston, W.V.) for the second straight year and Tom Prince returning as the organization's Gulf Coast League manager for the third season.

Assisting Green in West Virginia will be a new hitting coach, Edgar Varela, and a new pitching coach, Jeff Johnson. Varela served as the hitting coach for the Pirates' GCL team last season. Rudy Pena, who was the low Class A hitting coach this past season, will now be the GCL hitting coach, while Miguel Bonilla will return to Bradenton, Fla., as the GCL Pirates' pitching coach again.

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