Syrett Named Manager for 2019 WV Miners Baseball
February 25, 2019 - Prospect League (Prospect)
West Virginia Miners News Release
Mike Syrett, one of the most prolific pitchers in West Virginia Miners' franchise history, has been named as the Miners' manager for the 2019 Prospect League season, the team announced on the evening of February 24.
He will be replacing Tim Epling, who has been the team's only manager in its prior nine seasons of existence. Epling, who had a career 300-226 regular season managerial record in Prospect League play, will remain with the team as General Manager.
As such, it was Epling's decision to pick his successor to pilot the Miners this coming summer.
"I reached out to Mike to check and see if he would be interested in our head coaching position. He already had a lot of plusses that really made him the person we wanted to lead the team. He played here two years and was also an assistant coach for a period of time here last season. He has a good understanding of how we do things and this job also will be a good opportunity for him to enhance his coaching career in future years," said Epling.
Syrett, currently an assistant coach at Missouri Baptist University, spent some time in Beckley in the summer as 2018 as a member of the coaching staff after pitching for the Miners in both 2016 and 2017.
Syrett released the following statement regarding him being named as the manager of the West Virginia Miners for the 2019 Prospect League season: "First and foremost, I am grateful to once again be a part of such a prestigious baseball organization. I consider this new opportunity as both a blessing and an honor. I love Beckley like a second home and it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. West Virginia Miners' fans are amazingly dedicated, and have high expectations and standards of the players, as does the Miners' organization. I made great strides as a player, in terms of development, and that set forth the momentum needed to propel me forward. It is my hope to provide that same environment for the guys that we have coming in to play here this summer."
Through the conclusion of the 2018 season, Syrett's name still appears throughout the Miners' career record book in the top four of several career regular season pitching categories in franchise history: most starts-17 (1st), most victories-9 (tied for 1st), most innings pitched-97.2 (3rd), and most strikeouts-75 (4th).
He was one of the key pitchers from start to finish in the Miners' march to the 2016 Prospect League championship, when the California native posted an undefeated 6-0 record during 11 regular season appearances (10 starts) with a 3.25 earned run average along with 35 strikeouts versus only 13 walks in 58 innings of work. Then, he picked up where he left off in the 2016 postseason playoffs, appearing in two of the Miners' four Prospect League postseason victories and highlighted by a 115-pitch complete game.
Syrett wore the Miners' colors again in 2017, another campaign that saw the team reach Prospect League postseason play. For the 2017 season, he went 3-1 with a 3.17 earned run average in 7 regular season appearances (all starts) and struck out 40 batters over 39.2 innings on the mound.
His final college season as a player in the spring of 2017 was memorable for Syrett as he was a key pitcher for a Missouri Baptist University team that advanced to the 2017 NAIA World Series.
The Prospect League is the premier collegiate wood bat summer baseball league in the Midwest. It has been operating in its current form since 2009 while serving the summer baseball needs of top collegiate players. The West Virginia Miners, who play at Linda K. Epling Stadium in Beckley, WV, have been a member of the league since the beginning of the 2010 season. The team has reached the postseason playoffs in seven of their nine seasons in the Prospect League to date. These seven postseason appearances have included five trips to the league championship final series with three of the trips resulting with the Miners being crowned as Prospect League Champions (2012, 2013, 2016).
Season-long box seats and other ticket packages for the West Virginia Miners are already on sale for the 2019 Prospect League season. Persons needing more information on the Miners can contact the team either by e-mail at mktgwvminers@frontier.com or by telephone at 304-252-SAFE (7233).
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Prospect League Stories from February 25, 2019
- Syrett Named Manager for 2019 WV Miners Baseball - West Virginia Miners
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