Staten Island Yankees Announce 2018 Coaching Staff
March 19, 2018 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
Staten Island Yankees News Release
STATEN ISLAND- As we approach MLB Opening Day, the Staten Island Yankees have been assigned the following field staff by the New York Yankees:
Lino Diaz - Manager
Diaz enters his fourth season as a coach in the New York Yankees organization and the second season of his career as a manager. The Panama native's previous managing experience came in 2001 with the Gulf Coast League (GCL) Royals, posting a 20-40 record. The former infielder spent the last three seasons as a defensive coach with the Yankees, including two seasons with the GCL Yankees (2015-16) and a 2017 campaign with the AA Trenton Thunder. Diaz has extensive experience with cultural development and Latin American relations during his time in pro baseball. Before joining the Yankees organization as a coach, he spent ten seasons (2002-11) with the Cleveland Indians in various personnel roles, including Cultural Development Coordinator for four seasons, Assistant Director of Player Development & Latin American Operations for three seasons and Director of Latin American Operations for three seasons. Diaz then joined the Chicago White Sox as the club's Cultural Development Manager for two seasons (2013-14). Born in Panama, Diaz moved to Altoona, PA, as part of the Central American Scholarship Program in 1988 at 17 years old. He went on to play college baseball at UNLV before being selected in the 30th round by the Kansas City Royals in the 1993 draft. Diaz played five seasons in the minors for the Royals reaching as high as AAA. His brother, Einar Diaz, played catcher for 11 seasons in MLB for the Indians, Rangers, Expos, Cardinals and Dodgers and is currently a member of the Baltimore Orioles coaching staff.
Ken Joyce - Hitting Coach
Joyce enters his second season as a coach in the New York Yankees organization after spending the 2017 season with the Class A Charleston RiverDogs where the team held the second-best batting average in the South Atlantic League. Joyce's first position in professional baseball came as a volunteer bullpen catcher with the AA Portland SeaDogs (Marlins) in his hometown of Portland, ME. He got his first professional coaching position with Portland as the team's hitting coach in 1996. In 1997, Joyce got his first taste of the New York-Penn League (NYPL) as the Marlins assigned the Portland native to the Utica Blue Sox as the team's hitting coach. He was promoted to the team's manager for the following two seasons, recording a 77-74 record while leading his club to the playoffs once. Joyce moved on to independent baseball from 2000-01 as a coach for the Catskill Cougars for one season and as the manager of the Adirondack Lumberjacks with a 26-28 record for one season. He returned to affiliated ball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization where he coached for eight seasons (2002-09). His first two seasons in the Blue Jays system were as a hitting coach for the rookie level Medicine Hat Blue Jays then for the AA New Haven Ravens where the team claimed the Eastern League's highest batting average. Joyce was elevated to manager of the Class A Charleston AlleyCats in 2004 where he managed in the league's all-star game and led the club to a playoff appearance with a 84-56 record. Joyce managed the Class A Lansing Lugnuts from 2005-06 posting a 142-134 record with one playoff appearance. His final three seasons with the Blue Jays organization where spent as a hitting coach with the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats for two seasons then the AAA Las Vegas 51s for one season where he guided the team to a Pacific Coast League-best in batting average. Before joining the Yankees organization in 2017, Joyce spent seven seasons (2010-16) in the San Francisco Giants organization as a hitting coach, spending one season with the AAA Fresno Grizzlies and six seasons with the AA Richmond Flying Squirrels. As a player at the University of Southern Maine, Joyce set an NCAA record with seven hits in eight at-bats in a Regional Tournament game in 1985. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant for three seasons where the team claimed a Division III National Championship.
Travis Phelps - Pitching Coach
Phelps returns to Staten Island for a third consecutive season after making his pro coaching debut with the team in 2016. In his first two seasons as Staten Island's pitching coach, he guided the pitching staff to back-to-back playoff appearances while boasting the NYPL's lowest team ERA in 2017 at 2.64 and third-lowest in 2016 with a 2.82 ERA. Phelps' staffs have thrown two of the franchise's three no-hitters, including a home-opening no-hitter in 2016 and a four-pitcher combined no-hitter in 2017. Prior to joining the Yankees organization, Phelps ran a baseball training facility in Florida, for three years before being a sports agent for almost a year. Drafted in the 89th round of the 1996 draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Phelps made his MLB debut with the Rays in 2001. He spent two seasons with Tampa, posting a 3-4 record in 75 games (99.2 IP) with a 3.99 ERA and two saves out of the bullpen. Phelps also made 4 relief appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2004. In total, Phelps played 11 seasons in MiLB for the Rays, Braves, Brewers, Reds, Rockies, Cubs and Astros organizations. Before hanging up his cleats in 2009, Phelps played four seasons of independent baseball with Camden, Newark and York.
Supporting Staff
Jon Becker - Athletic Trainer
Daniel Smith - Strength Coach
Joe Wielbruda - Video Manager
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"I'm very excited to join Staten Island, because it's a high level of baseball for players entering from college. Most of the guys playing for Staten Island this summer will go on to play High-A ball in the next year. I'm also for very excited about our coaching staff with some very experienced guys that will be able to teach these young men." - Lino Diaz, Manager
"---We're looking forward to Lino joining us on Staten Island this June. With his wide range of experience in professional baseball, there's no doubt he'll be the perfect person to groom the incoming group of Yankees prospects." - Jane Rogers, General Manager
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The Staten Island Yankees are the Single A-Short Season Affiliate of the New York Yankees and play at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George. The Staten Island Yankees are six-time New York-Penn League Champions (2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011). For more information, visit siyanks.com.
New York-Penn League Stories from March 19, 2018
- Staten Island Yankees Announce 2018 Coaching Staff - Staten Island Yankees
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