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Charleston Dirty Birds

Power 2014 Field Staff Announced

January 13, 2014 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


CHARLESTON, WV (January 13, 2014) - The Pittsburgh Pirates, parent club to the West Virginia Power, have announced the 2014 field staff for each of their Minor League Baseball affiliates. The Power staff includes two holdovers from the record-setting 2013 team and a new hitting coach.

Michael Ryan returns as the manager of the Power, a Class-A affiliate of the Pirates. Ryan led West Virginia in 2013 in his first year as a professional manager. The Power won 82 games last season, matching the single-season franchise record, and qualified for the South Atlantic League postseason as the second half, Northern Division champions. Ryan, a fifth round draft choice of Minnesota in 1995, played 15 seasons professionally, including portions of five inthe Majors with the Twins and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Jeff Johnson will once again serve at West Virginia's pitching coach. Johnson was the Power pitching coach from 2009 to 2011 before spending the 2012 season with Pittsburgh's Double-A affiliate Altoona. The former New York Yankees southpaw returned to West Virginia in 2013, helping pace a staff that had a 3.42 earned run average, the lowest in franchise history.

Keoni De Renne joins the Power in 2014 as the club's hitting coach. De Renne was selected in the 12th round of the 2000 draft by Atlanta out of the University of Arizona. During 11 seasons of professional ball, De Renne played in over 1,000 games and batted .268 for his career.

Former Power hitting coach Orlando Merced will serve in the same capacity for Jamestown in the New York-Penn League while the club's 2013 player coach, Miles Durham, will man the same role for Altoona.

The 2014 campaign marks the tenth season of both the West Virginia Power and Appalachian Power Park. The teambegins the season on the road at Lexington April 3 and plays their home opener a week later on April 10 against the Legends. Full and partial season ticket packages as well as several mini-plans are currently available.

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