SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

Torre Tyson to Return for Third Season as RiverDogs Manager

Published on December 22, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


CHARLESTON, SC -- The New York Yankees have announced that Torre Tyson will return for a third season as manager of the Charleston RiverDogs and pitching coach Jeff Ware will also be back for the 2009 campaign.

Tyson, who was named the RiverDogs manager by the parent club Yankees initially in December 2006, returns for his fifth season in Charleston having also spent the 2004 and '05 seasons as the team's hitting coach.

The Yankees also announced that former major leaguer Sherman Obando will serve as the team's first-base coach.

"Starting with Torre Tyson we think that the Charleston RiverDogs will again have an exceptional on-field staff of quality coaches and teachers," said Mark Newman, the Yankees' Senior Vice President for Baseball Operations. "They will have a lot of support from guys like Pat Roessler (Director of Player Development) and our minor league coordinators."

Tyson, who was named the RiverDogs manager by the parent club Yankees initially in December 2006, returns for his fifth season in Charleston having also spent the 2004 and '05 seasons as the team's hitting coach.

"We simply love Charleston, playing in Riley Park and being a part of the RiverDogs family," said Tyson, who is from the St. Louis area. "This is a job that my family and I thoroughly enjoy.

In 2008, Tyson guided the RiverDogs to an 80-59 overall record tying the franchise record for victories in a single season, when the 2005 RiverDogs posted an 80-58 mark. His overall record stands at 158-121 (.566).

"I felt like we had a good 2008 season," he added. "But with a few more wins in '09, we should make the playoffs, which is our primary goal."

Last season proved to be one of the most memorable in the history of Charleston professional baseball highlighted by a 20-6 record in the month of April, which set a franchise record for victories in a single month, and a 45-25 record in the first half, setting another franchise record for wins in a single half.

However, the RiverDogs finished one game behind the Asheville Tourists for that ever-elusive first-half Southern Division title and were unable to recapture the magic in the second half of the campaign registering a 35-34 record.

"We are extremely excited to have Torre back as our manager," said RiverDogs General Manager Dave Echols. "He has proven himself to be one of the best young managers in all of Minor League Baseball and has done a fine job getting players ready for the next level."

Such was the amazing stockpile of talent that graced the Charleston landscape last season that five players who spent considerable time with the RiverDogs are currently ranked in the top 10 overall prospects in the Yankees organization (Jesus Montero, No. 2; Austin Romine, No. 4; Dellin Betances, No. 5; Zach McAllister, No. 6; and Bradley Suttle, No. 10).

Montero, a mid-season and post-season South Atlantic League All-Star who also appeared in the MLB All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium during All-Star weekend, finished second in the league with a .326 average and led the loop with 171 base hits, which ranked second in all of minor league baseball.

A former University of Missouri standout, Tyson led the RiverDogs to a 78-62 overall record in 2007 that included a second-half mark of 41-29, the same number of wins that Southern Division winner Columbus had. The RiverDogs missed the playoffs by virtue of winning percentage, in which the Catfish bested in the RiverDogs thanks to five fewer losses in the second half.

Tyson, who turns 33 on Dec. 31, spent three seasons as a player in the Red Sox organization before joining the Yankees, where he played for three minor league seasons and reached the AA level. After his playing career, Tyson spent time with the Yankees' squad at short-season Class-A Staten Island and with the Gulf Coast League Yankees before coming to Charleston.

As the RiverDogs' hitting coach, Tyson helped groom 1B/DH Ben Jones into the Charleston professional baseball all-time leader in home runs (35) and RBI (165).

Ware, who enters his fourth full season as a professional coach, will again serve as the RiverDogs' pitching coach in 2009. Ware had the benefit of working with some of the top young arms in the Yankees organization, as five RiverDog pitchers were promoted during the season (Zach McAllister, Jason Stephens, Jesse Hoover, Wilkins De La Rosa, and Noel Castillo) and the staff still managed to collectively post a 3.41 ERA, the second-best clip in the league.

While the moundsmen were at times decimated by injury, starter Dellin Betances still registered a team-best nine victories and 135 strikeouts, with the latter mark ranking sixth in the SAL. The bullpen was airtight, as well, anchored by mid-season SAL All-Star closer Jonathan Ortiz who appeared in a league-high 57 games, good for fourth all-time in RiverDogs single-season history, and saved a league-best 33 games last year to rank second all-time in RiverDogs history behind Kerry Lacy, who saved 36 games in 1993.

Prior to coming to Charleston, Ware spent the '07 season in the same position with the Staten Island Yankees, and was with the North Shore Spirit of the independent Can-Am League in '06. There, he guided the team's pitching staff to a league-best 58 wins and a 2.78 combined ERA.

Ware, who spent the fall coaching in Hawaii with the Waikiki BeachBoys, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round of the 1991 Draft (35th overall) out of Old Dominion University, where he went 22-9 in three seasons. His professional career was highlighted by a two-year stint pitching for the Blue Jays during the 1995 and '96 seasons.

The Virginia Beach, Va., native also made stops in the Milwaukee Brewers, Anaheim Angels and Chicago White Sox organizations, and was also a member of Team USA in the Pan-American Games, where he won a bronze medal in 1991.

Obando joins the Yankees organization for his first season as the RiverDogs' first-base coach. Originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent in 1987, Obando made his major league debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 1993 and was traded to the Montreal Expos in 1996.

A lifetime .239 hitter, Obando garnered greater fame in Japan playing parts of six seasons from 1999-2005 with the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japanese Pacific League. Obando also participated in the 2006 World Baseball Classic with his native Panama team.

TRANSACTIONS: Charleston RiverDogs (South Atlantic League): Named Torre Tyson, manager; Jeff Ware, pitching coach; and Sherman Obando, first base coach.

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South Atlantic League Stories from December 22, 2008


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.

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