Dragons Welcome New Manager Delino DeShields
Click Here to listen to an interview with DeShields conducted by Dragons broadcaster Tom Nichols.
Delino DeShields, Manager (1st year with Dragons) DeShields takes over as the Dragons manager and enters his third season in the Reds organization in 2011. He served as manager of the Billings Mustangs in 2010, managing many of the players who will make up the Dayton roster this season. The Mustangs finished with a winning record of 38-37 under DeShields' leadership in 2010 despite seeing nine players promoted to higher levels of the organization over the course of the Pioneer League season. DeShields was the hitting coach at Billings in 2009.
PLAYING CAREER - DeShields spent 13 years in the Major Leagues with the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago Cubs. He finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting with the Expos in 1990. His best season came in 1997 with the Cardinals when he batted .295 with 11 home runs, 55 stolen bases, and a league-leading 14 triples. DeShields finished in the top three in the league in stolen bases six times during his career (10 times in the top eight) and ranks among the top 50 all-time in career stolen bases with 463. He batted .290 or higher in five different seasons of his big league career.
DeShields' managers during his playing days included Tommy Lasorda, Tony LaRussa, and Felipe Alou among others while his teammates included Cal Ripken, Jr., Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Will Clark, Harold Baines, Gary Carter, Orel Hershiser, Dennis Eckersley, and Larry Walker. DeShields and Dragons pitching coach Tony Fossas were teammates for the entire 1997 season with the Cardinals.
DeShields was originally signed as a first round draft pick in 1987 (12th overall selection) by the Expos out of Seaford High School in Delaware. He was slated to play college basketball at Villanova (point guard) before selecting a career in baseball. DeShields' oldest son, Delino DeShields, Jr. was the eighth overall selection of the first round in the 2010 draft and signed with the Houston Astros.