Captains Announce 2014 Field Staff
(Eastlake, OH) - The Lake County Captains and the Cleveland Indians announced the 2014 Captains field staff today which is led by first-time manager and former Indians farm hand Mark Budzinski. Budzinski's coaching staff will consist of Pitching Coach Rigo Beltran, Hitting Coach Shaun Larkin and Athletic Trainer Matt Beauregard.
Budzinski, 40, will make his professional coaching debut at the helm of the Captains. He attended the University of Richmond and earned a BSBA with concentrations in Marketing and Economics. Following his collegiate career, he was drafted by the Indians in the 21st round of the 1995 draft. He spent seven seasons in the Indians organization before stops in the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies organizations. He appeared in four games at the Major League level with the Reds in 2003. The left-handed outfielder was a member of the United States team in the 2001 Baseball Word Cup. Mark is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, is married and has three children.
Beltran, 44, will handle the Captains pitching staff after spending the last three seasons as the Pitching Coach for the Single-A Bakersfield Blaze in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Beltran spent seven seasons in the Reds organization. A former Major League pitcher, Beltran appeared in parts of five seasons with St. Louis, New York Mets, Colorado and Montreal. He began his 16-year professional playing career with the St. Louis organization after he was selected by the Cardinals in the 1991 free agent draft. In 1994, while playing for the Arkansas Travelers, he pitched a no-hitter at Shreveport, striking out six and walking two.
Larkin, 34, was an All-Star third baseman for the Captains in the inaugural 2003 season. He spent the 2013 season as the hitting coach of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, his first season in the professional coaching ranks. Prior to that, he spent two seasons as an Assistant Coach at his alma mater, Cal State Northridge. Previously he worked with the Indians Double-A affiliate Akron Aeros in 2007 and 2008 assisting both management and the coaching staff with player development and becoming the team's First Base coach. He was selected by the Indians in the ninth round of the 2002 draft and played professionally with the organization for six seasons from 2002-2007.
Full season ticket plans, 7-, 12-, 20-, and 35-game mini ticket plans for the 2014 season are on sale now at great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website CaptainsBaseball.com.