Storm Chasers Manager Mike Jirschele Retires
Published on October 10, 2025 under International League (IL)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
Omaha Storm Chasers Manager Mike Jirschele
(Omaha Storm Chasers, Credit: Minda Haas Kuhlmann)
PAPILLION, NEB. - The Kansas City Royals announced today that Mike Jirschele is retiring following a 48-year career in professional baseball, including 38 years in the Kansas City Royals organization as a player, coach, manager and in the front office.
The all-time winningest manager in Omaha franchise history (1,214 wins), Jirschele managed the Triple-A Omaha team for 17 seasons and a franchise-record 2,454 games, representing 31% of the club's history. "Jirsch" led Omaha to four division titles, three league championships and one national championship.
"I'm grateful for every day I was in Omaha, Omaha was my second home," Jirschele said. "I enjoyed working with all the kids that came through and all the different staffs I've had. I got to meet a lot of really nice, really good people in Omaha, both in the clubhouse and front office."
The 14th full-time manager in Omaha history, Jirschele began his Omaha managerial career in 1995, becoming the third former Omaha player (of now six) to go on to manage the Triple-A club. After three years as the Omaha Royals manager, Jirsch served five years as Kansas City's roving Minor League infield instructor (1998-2002) before returning to the O-Royals in 2003.
In his second stint as Omaha's manager (2003-2013), Jirschele won his 1,000th game as a Minor League manager, led Omaha to four division titles, three consecutive trips to the Pacific Coast League Championship Series (2011-2013), two PCL titles (2011, 2013) and the team's first of two Triple-A National Championships (2013).
After six years in the Major Leagues (2014-2019) as the third base coach for the Royals, Jirsch returned for his third and final stint with Omaha (2023-2025), winning his 1,000th game with the Triple-A Omaha franchise, as well as his third League Championship with Omaha (2024), the eighth in franchise history and the team's first since joining the International League in 2021.
"It has been my pleasure to work with Jirsch, the better part of the last 19 seasons," said Omaha Storm Chasers President Martie Cordaro. "He has committed his life's work to developing professional baseball players and men. In 2014, when we retired his jersey, we never thought he would be back in an Omaha Triple-A uniform, so the past three seasons have been icing on the cake. Enjoy your past due retirement, number 23."
Beginning in 1990, all 36 years of Jirschele's post-playing career came in the Royals organization, with time at every professional level. After retiring as a player, he spent 2 years (1990-1991) as a coach with the Appleton Foxes (Single-A) before managerial stints with the Gulf Coast League Royals (Rookie, 1992), Rockford Royals (Single-A, 1993) and Wilmington Blue Rocks (High-A, 1994). He also served as a Special Assistant to the General Manager (2020), as well as the Bench Coach with the Quad Cities River Bandits (High-A, 2021) and Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Double-A, 2022).
Jirschele was a 3-time league Manager of the Year, in the Gulf Coast League (1992), Carolina League (1994) and International League (2024), while a four-time recipient of the Kansas City Royals' Dick Howser Award (1992, 1994, 2005, 2011) and the 2011 recipient of Minor League Baseball's Mike Coolbaugh Award.
He was a three-time league Manager of the Year, in the Gulf Coast League (1992), Carolina League (1994) and International League (2024). Jirsch was also a four-time recipient of the Kansas City Royals' Dick Howser Award (1992, 1994, 2005, 2011) and was the recipient of Minor League Baseball's Mike Coolbaugh Award in 2011.
Over his 20 seasons as a Minor League manager, Jirschele oversaw 716 players, including 654 in Omaha - accounting for 46% of the more than 1,400 players who have appeared in a game for the Triple-A Omaha club. A total of 161 different players have gone on to the Major Leagues after playing for Jirsch, including 153 of the 347 (44%) MLB alumni produced by the Triple-A Omaha franchise. In his 17 seasons at Triple-A, 95 players were promoted from Omaha to Kansas City for the first time under his watch - including Zack Greinke, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Yordano Ventura, while players like Johnny Damon and Sal Fasano played for Jirschele in the lower Minor Leagues before establishing significant Major League careers.
In 2025, 31 individuals who played under Jirsch in Omaha coached in affiliated professional baseball, including 15 Major League coaches and three International League managers: Kanekoa Texeira (Gwinnett), Chris Truby(Indianapolis) and Chad Tracy (Worcester).
Jirschele was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 5th round of the 1977 MLB Draft and spent the first 11 years of his playing career in their organization. He played 13 Minor League seasons between 1977 and 1990, appearing in 999 games - including 296 games at the Triple-A level with Oklahoma City and Omaha. Jirschele played two seasons in the Royals system, including 23 Triple-A games with the Omaha Royals.
Images from this story
 Omaha Storm Chasers Manager Mike Jirschele (Minda Haas Kuhlmann) |
 Omaha Storm Chasers Manager Mike Jirschele (Minda Haas Kuhlmann) |
International League Stories from October 10, 2025
- A Deep Dive into Indy's Original Home Team - Indianapolis Indians
- Storm Chasers Manager Mike Jirschele Retires - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Banana Ball World Tour to Come to VyStar Ballpark in 2026 - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
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.
