Texas Rangers Name Crawdads Field Staff
Hector Ortiz has been named the Manager of the Hickory Crawdads. Ortiz begins his fourth season in the Rangers' farm system, having spent the previous three season as a hitting coach. Last season, Oritz was the hitting coach for the Rangers' AAA team at Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League. He has also coached in Spokane and with the Rangers Rookie League team in Arizona.
Ortiz was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 35th round of the 1988 amateur entry draft. After spending seven seasons as a catcher in the Dodgers minor league system, Ortiz spent a pair of seasons each with the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals farm teams before debuting with the Royals in 1998, where he played in four games late in that season. Ortiz would play in the majors again in 2000 and 2001 with the Royals before a brief stay with Texas in 2002. In 93 big league games, Ortiz hit .288 with one home run and 18 RBIs. He retired after the 2005 season after one season with the Washington Nationals' AAA team in New Orleans.
He and his wife, Selena, have one son, Hector, and reside in Canovanas, Puerto Rico.
Brian Dayett has been named the Hitting Coach for the Crawdads. He begins his fifth season with the Rangers' organization. Dayett has spent the previous four seasons with the Rangers low-A affiliate in Clinton, IA of the Midwest League. Prior to joining the Rangers in 2005, Dayett spent three years as a minor league coach in the Houston organization, with stops at Lexington (2004), Tri-City (2003) and Michigan (2002).
Brian played professionally as an outfielder for 14 seasons. The New York Yankees originally selected him in the 16th round of the June 1978 draft. In 1983, Dayett was named MVP of the International League All-Star Game and recognized as the Yankees Minor League Player of the Year. He spent parts of five seasons in the Major Leagues, batting .258 with 14 home runs and 68 RBI in 218 games with the Yankees (1983-84) and the Chicago Cubs (1985-87). He finished his playing career in the Japanese Pacific League with the Nippon Ham Fighters from 1988-1991. Brian, 49, resides in Winchester, Tenn., with his wife, Christine, and two sons, Chase and Garrett.
Jeff Bodenhamer has been named the Athletic Trainer for the Crawdads. Bodenhamer begins his fifth season in the Rangers organization and first with Hickory He joined the Rangers organization in 2005 having served three seasons in the same role with Clinton and last season with the Bakersfield Blaze (High A) of the California League. Prior to joining the Rangers, Bodenhamer served as the trainer for the Gulf Coast League Braves. In addition to working with the Braves organization, Bodenhamer served as the assistant athletic trainer at Newberry College in Newberry, South Carolina. In 2000, he was the trainer for the Clemson University baseball team that reached the College World Series.
Jeff graduated in 1998 from Greensboro College in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he received a B.S. in physical education. The Archdale, North Carolina-native resides in Newberry, South Carolina.
Ryan McNeal has been assigned to Hickory as the Crawdads Strength and Conditioning Coach.
The Rangers have not yet announced their selection of a pitching coach for the Hickory Crawdads.
Additional information about the Crawdads can found at www.hickorycrawdads.com. The Crawdads can be reached at 828-322-3000 or by email at [email protected].