NL Gary SouthShore Railcats

RailCats Hitting Coach Kenny Graham Headed To Toronto Blue Jays

Published on December 9, 2009 under Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release


GARY, Ind. - Gary SouthShore RailCats Hitting Coach Kenny Graham, who oversaw the greatest offensive year in franchise history and helped the club to back-to-back Northern League Championship Series, has cracked the affiliated minor leagues by landing a job in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

Graham will work in the New York-Penn League this summer as the hitting coach for the Single-A Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays. The Illinois native will serve under former RailCats All-Star Anthony Iapoce, who earlier this offseason was named the Blue Jays Roving Hitting Coach.

"I am excited for this summer, but just as thankful for the opportunity I was given with the RailCats," Graham said. "Everyone from the Salvi family and front office to [Manager] Greg Tagert and [Pitching Coach] Jamie Bennett made the years I spent in Gary a special time for me. The RailCats are an exceptional organization and it is a privilege to be associated with their past and continued success."

Hired by the RailCats before the start of the 2008 season, Graham's offense that year set 24 individual and team records, including a new Northern League record for hits in a single season (1,057). The 2008 RailCats led the league in batting (.307) for the first time ever and had eight different players hit at least.300. Last season, the RailCats overcame the loss of league MVP Tanner Townsend (to the Florida Marlins) and Cristian Guerrero (to injury for the first 30 games of the season) to score more than 500 runs and hit.286 over the last two months of the season.

In his two years with the RailCats, Graham coached a Northern League MVP (Townsend), a Northern League Rookie of the Year (Mike Rohde, 2008), two Northern League Full-Season All-Stars, 11 Northern League Mid-Season All-Stars and four Northern League statistical leaders. Before joining the RailCats, Graham spent several seasons as a college coach, including at the University of Indianapolis. Graham played two seasons of college baseball at Indiana University.

"I'm thrilled for Kenny," RailCats Manager Greg Tagert said. "This is a great opportunity and I am confident he will be a tremendous addition to the Blue Jays organization just as he was for the RailCats. Kenny is the epitome of what we look for in a coach, and his contributions the last two seasons only strengthened our standard of excellence at the position, following Andy Haines and Brian Nelson."

Both Haines and Nelson went on to manage the Frontier League's Windy City Thunderbolts after their time with the RailCats, where Haines was the league's Manager of the Year and won a championship in 2007. Haines has spent the last two seasons in the Florida Marlins organization, and was the manager of the New York-Penn League's Jamestown Jammers (A) in 2009. Nelson was back in the Northern League last year as the hitting coach for the Schaumburg Flyers.

The RailCats will conduct a national search for Graham's replacement.

The only team in Northern League history to advance to the Championship Series five years in a row, the RailCats begin the 2010 season Thursday, May 20 at 7 p.m. against the Kansas City T-Bones. To view this summer's complete 100-game schedule or for more on the RailCats, visit www.railcatsbaseball.com.

Check out the Gary SouthShore Railcats Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Northern League Stories from December 9, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central