E-Twins field staff set for 2013
Ray Smith returns to manage in 2013. During his 27-year tenure with the team, Smith has served as manager for 20 seasons, compiling an overall record of 791 wins with 486 losses. With eight consecutive playoff appearances and numerous Appalachian League titles, Smith continues to shape his coaching legacy. Under his guidance the E-Twins have won six Appalachian League titles, the latest culminating a thrilling 2012 Championship Series against the Burlington Royals. Smith has been named Appalachian League Manager of the Year six times, and was named the 2005 Rookie Manager of the Year by Baseball American. A graduate of the University of Oregon, Smith was signed as a nondrafted free agent in 1977 by the Twins and advanced to the Majors in 1981.
Third base coach Jeff Reed will return for his 12th season with the Elizabethton Twins. Reed, a first round pick (No. 12 overall), by Minnesota in 1980, spent 17 seasons with the Twins (1984-86) before moving on to the Montreal Expos (1987-88), Cincinnati Reds (1988-92), San Francisco Giants (1993-95), Colorado Rockies (1996-98) and Chicago Cubs (1999-2000). A member of the 1990 World Series Champion Cincinnati Reds, Reed brings valuable experience to coaching Rookie-level professional baseball.
Former Twins Minor Leaguer Henry Bonilla joins Elizabethton to begin his second season as a pitching coach, after spending last season with the GCL Twins. Bonilla was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2000. He spent six seasons in the organization, as well as two seasons with the Salt Lake Bees, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and prior to the 2009 season signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers where he was assigned to Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes.
Curtis Simondet will begin his first season as the trainer for the Elizabethton Twins. Simondet joins the club after spending two seasons as trainer in the GCL.