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AA St. Paul Saints

Saints hire title-winning manager Tsamis

November 6, 2002 - American Association (AA)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Paul Saints hired former Minnesota Twins pitcher George Tsamis as its field manager Wednesday. Tsamis will replace Jimmy Johnson, who will not return to the Saints so that he can pursue organizational career interests this winter.

Tsamis, 35, led the New Jersey Jackals to consecutive Northern League championships the past two seasons.

"Two in a row, here we go!" Saints president Mike Veeck said.

In 2002, New Jersey finished 62-27, two wins shy of the league's single-season record. Tsamis was named NL East Manager of the Year by media and fellow managers. He is widely considered one of the best young managerial prospects in baseball.

Tsamis (pronounced sam-ISS) pitched in 41 games with the Twins in 1993. He was 1-2 with a 6.19 ERA and one save as Minnesota's primary left-handed middle reliever. He was very selective about moving back to where he played big league ball because his wife, Kelly, is based in Connecticut as a production coordinator for ESPN's baseball coverage.

"I'm very excited about coming to St. Paul," Tsamis said. "I've heard so many good things about the Saints. It was very attractive to me because of playing for the Twins 10 years ago. The only negative is I have to wait six months for the season to begin."

Tsamis, who signed a three-year contract, also will be in charge of player personnel. He handled player procurement in both of New Jersey's championship seasons.

"I will do the best I can to put the best possible team out there," Tsamis said. "I'm definitely a player's manager. I want them to show up on time and play hard. We'll have fun. For a guy to be successful, you have to have fun playing. It's going to be a great season. I can't wait. I'm looking forward to the opportunity. I'll do the best I can to get us back to winning championships again."

Johnson said he enjoyed the "Saints experience," as he participated in many on-field activities and was involved in community projects. But potential offers this offseason by Major League organizations affected his ability to make an early commitment to manage the Saints. Johnson led the Saints to a 39-50 record in 2002, his only season as skipper.

"I had a great time in St. Paul," Johnson said. "It was one of the best coaching staffs I've ever had. The front office was very professional. Everybody treated me great. It was a very comfortable situation. I have absolutely no regrets. I'd do it all over again in a second.

"But my heart is still in affiliated baseball. I like the developmental part of it. I wasn't really happy about saying ‘no' to St. Paul. There's a piece of my heart that's still in St. Paul. It's unique. There's stuff that goes on there that I tell people about and they don't believe me."

Tsamis signed a three-year contract extension with New Jersey prior to this season which kept the manager under contract through 2004. But the Jackals granted the Saints permission to interview Tsamis when Johnson announced his intentions.

"I loved my time in New Jersey. I worked with great people there," Tsamis said. "It was a really tough decision. I'm going from one great organization to another."

New Jersey moved with other NL East teams into the renewed Northeast League for 2003. The four-year pact that merged the leagues expired in October. The Saints, along with the other nine NL Central teams, will remain in operation as the Northern League.

Following his nine-year professional playing career where he registered a 57-31 minor league record, Tsamis became the pitching coach of the Waterbury (Conn.) Spirit in the renamed NL East and then managed the team to a 76-96 record from 1999-2000.

Success and Tsamis were linked from an early age. In 1979, the then-12-year-old left-hander pitched for the United States champion Campbell, Calif., team in a 2-1 extra-inning Little League World Series championship loss to Taiwan.

The next year, his family moved to Clearwater, Fla. Baseball continued for Tsamis and his brothers – Bill and Nick – at Countryside High School. After a standout prep career, Tsamis signed with Stetson University. He helped win consecutive conference championships and set the single-season school mark with 130 strikeouts in 1989.

Tsamis was drafted in the 33rd round by the Toronto Blue Jays after his junior season, but elected to complete his college career. After his final year, the Twins drafted him in the 15th round. He spent the next two years playing for the Visalia Oaks, the Twins' single-A club, before reaching triple-A in 1991 with the Portland Beavers. After posting a 23-12 record over two seasons there, in 1993, Minnesota promoted Tsamis and he made his Major League debut April 26.

But Tsamis developed arm troubles. He had two surgeries – one for a torn rotator cuff and another for a torn labrum. If any moment could rival his lone Major League season, it was in 1994 while Tsamis was pitching for the double-A Jacksonville Suns. He exchanged words with basketball legend Michael Jordan, then with the Birmingham team, after Jordan berated him from the dugout. Benches cleared, and Tsamis, needless to say, wasn't asking M.J. for his autograph.

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