Andy Barkett to Manage Tribe in 2017
INDIANAPOLIS - The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced that Andy Barkett will lead the Indianapolis Indians field staff in 2017 as the club's 60th field manager in team history. Pitching coach Stan Kyles and hitting coach Butch Wynegar reprise their roles for the third consecutive year. Dru Scott will serve as the new trainer, while Alan Burr takes over as strength and conditioning coach.
Andy Barkett - Manager
Stan Kyles - Pitching Coach
Butch Wynegar - Hitting Coach
Dru Scott - Trainer
Alan Burr - Strength & Conditioning Coach
Barkett, 42, spent the 2016 campaign as an assistant hitting coordinator within the Pirates organization, the same role he held the year before with Miami.
Barkett owns a 531-506 (.512) record in eight seasons as a manager in Minor League Baseball. From 2011-14, Barkett managed the Marlins' Double-A affiliate in Jacksonville. He led the then-Suns to an 81-59 record and the Southern League championship in his final year at the helm. Prior to that, he spent four years in the Detroit Tigers' system as manager of the former Short-A Oneonta Tigers (2007) and High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers (2008-10).
The 6'1" lefty logged time at both first base and the outfield in his 11-year professional playing career. Barkett spent minor league time with Texas, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Detroit - compiling a slash line of .273/.354/.421. He belted 89 home runs and tallied 604 RBIs during his minor league career. Barkett's top season in that time was arguably the 1999 campaign he spent with Triple-A Oklahoma, batting .307 with 76 RBIs over 132 games as the club advanced to the Pacific Coast League's championship series.
Along with more than 1,100 career minor league contests played, Barkett logged 17 major league games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2001. He hit .304 for the Bucs in that span, including a double in his first big league plate appearance.
Barkett was born September 5, 1974, in Miami, Fla. He currently resides in Oviedo, Fla., with his wife Brandy, son Isaiah (12), and daughters Jade (14) and Emma (8). He assumes the position previously held by Dean Treanor for six seasons.
Kyles, 55, has served as the Tribe's pitching coach since 2015 and will enter his 27th year as a minor league instructor. Last season, he was responsible for grooming a talent-laden young staff that saw all six starting pitchers used in April go on to make their major league debuts - seven pitchers in total on the year. Kyles has guided Tribe hurlers to a 3.20 ERA over his two seasons combined, the second best mark in the International League in that span.
Wynegar, 60, began as the Indians' hitting coach in 2015 and will enter his 23rd season as a minor league instructor. Tribe hitters have led the IL in triples and stolen bases in each of Wynegar's two seasons. He has played a pivotal role in the development of five position players who went to make their MLB debuts in 2016, including Josh Bell and Adam Frazier, who was among the IL's top hitters at the time of his promotion and remained with the Bucs for the majority of the season.
Scott, 31, is a native of Lafayette, Ind., and lives in nearby Carmel. He has spent eight years working as a trainer in the Pirates' chain - most recently joining Double-A Altoona for the 2016 campaign. He has progressed through Pittsburgh's affiliates beginning with the GCL Pirates in 2009, making stops at Single-A West Virginia and High-A Bradenton as well. From 2007-08, he worked for Unity Sports Medicine in Lafayette before departing for professional baseball. Scott attended Manchester (Ind.) College, where he graduated in 2007 with a degree in athletic training.
Burr, 33, spent the previous two seasons as Double-A Altoona's strength coach. He will enter his fifth year in the Pirates' system in 2017 and 10th year as a strength and conditioning coach. Prior to entering professional baseball, Burr started his career in collegiate athletics as a grad assistant with Appalachian State in 2008, followed by Georgia Tech, Central Connecticut State, and Florida International University. He is a native of Roanoke Rapids, N.C. Burr completed his undergraduate studies in exercise science at East Carolina University before earning a master's in exercise science from Appalachian State.
The Indians will open the 2016 season at home on Thursday, April 6. Season tickets are on sale now.