Mariners Announce LumberKings' Staff for 2013

Eddie Menchaca and Andrew Lorraine return Clinton following a successful 2012 campaign

By Chad Seely

December 18, 2012

Clinton, IA - The Clinton LumberKings will have familiar faces leading the way in 2013 as the Seattle Mariners announced Eddie Menchaca will return as Manager for the 77th year of Clinton baseball, and fifth as the Mariners single-A affiliate.

Menchaca returns for his third season with the team. He led the LumberKings to a 71-67 overall record in 2012, including a 48-22 mark in the second half to lock down a playoff spot. The 48 wins represented the most wins in a half in franchise history. The LumberKings went on to win consecutive road games to defeat the Beloit Snappers in the first round of the playoffs, but lost to the eventual MWL-Champion Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the West Division Finals. Menchaca has amassed 128 wins as Clinton manager which ranks 11th on the all-time list. Jack Mull, who won the 1991 Midwest League Championship, tops the list with 300 career managerial wins in Clinton.

Andrew Lorraine returns as pitching coach after serving the same role in 2012. Led by Lorraine, Clinton's team ERA in 2012 was 3.71 and the team issued the second-fewest walks in the Midwest League. The left-hander pitched in Major League Baseball for six years, including a stint with the Mariners in 1998.

Mike Kinkade begins his third season in the Mariners organization, and his first with Clinton. Previously, Kinkade was a coach for Everett in 2011 and then Manager for the AZL Mariners in 2012, where he led the team to a 31-25 record. Kinkade spent parts of six seasons in the Major Leagues from 1998 through 2008, including stints with the Mets, Orioles and Dodgers.

Jeff Kahn will serve as the Athletic Trainer for the LumberKings in 2012. 2011 was Kahn's first season as a trainer in the Mariners Minor League system. After graduating from Xavier University in 2006 with a Bachelors of Science in Athletic Training, Kahn received his Masters of Arts in Kinesiology emphasis in Biomechanics from San Diego State University in 2009. Kahn was a graduate assistant athletic trainer from 2006-2009 and a staff athletic trainer for SDSU from 2009-2012. Rounding out Menchaca's staff is Performance Specialist Ryan White, who enters his first season with the LumberKings.

Clinton opens the 2013 season on the road Thursday, April 4 against Burlington. The home opener is set for Thursday, April 11 as Clinton hosts the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Ashford University Field. For tickets and group information, call the ticket office at 563-242-0727.