FirstEnergy Stadium becomes Forbes' field

READING, Penn. -- The Philadelphia Phillies have named P.J. Forbes manager for Double-A Reading for 2006, their 40th year affiliated with the RPhils. The 22nd manager in R-Phils history, Forbes takes over for Steve Swisher, whose contract was not renewed after his only season in Reading.

Forbes will be formally introduced at a news conference on Thursday, December 1. Details will be announced at a later date.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity presented to me by the Phillies. It's a chance to further my career and I appreciate that. I'm excited to come to Reading with it's history and to be around great fans, in a great ballpark with a great field staff and front office," Forbes said from Surprise, Ariz., where he's coaching Phillies and other prospects in the Arizona Fall League.

Reading coaches John Morris (hitting) and Tom Filer (pitching), a Philadelphia native and graduate of LaSalle University and Archbishop Ryan High School, will both return. Joel Kennedy, Reading's athletic trainer the past two seasons, did not have his contract renewed. His replacement has not been named.

"When you add in who is on our staff, I'm thrilled. John (Morris) was my hitting coach when I played with the Angels and Files (Tom Filer) was my pitching coach in Lakewood," Forbes said of his coaches. "I look forward to be being back with them and having their years of experience to draw from in this opportunity."

Forbes, 38, retired from playing in spring training of 2003 and spent the last two seasons managing the Phillies' South Atlantic League (Lo-A) affiliate in Lakewood, NJ, where he guided the BlueClaws to a record of 126-150. In 2004, Forbes' first managerial season, Lakewood finished with its first ever winning record (70-67) and set a franchise record by winning 39 games in the season's second half. He was also a coach in Major League Baseball's All-Star Futures Game in Detroit this past July and is currently a hitting coach for the Surprise Scorpions in the AFL.

A 20th round pick of the California Angels in 1990, Forbes spent 13 professional seasons primarily as an infielder and made it to the Major Leagues with Baltimore in 1998 and Philadelphia in 2001. He was a career .280 Minor League hitter and was 3-for-17 as a Major Leaguer. His best season came in 1993 for Midland when he led the Texas League in runs scored (90) and registered career highs in most offensive categories, including batting average (.319), home runs (15) and RBIs (64). From 1993-1996, he was the top fielding 2nd baseman in his league three times. He spent his last three seasons ('00-'02) as a player in the Phillies system, hitting .288 for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and .286 for Philadelphia.

A native of Pittsburg, Kansas, Forbes is a graduate of Wichita State University, where he earned a degree in marketing. He also played for the Shockers' 1989 NCAA Championship baseball team. He is married (Stephanie) with three daughters and resides in Wichita.

Former Phillie John Russell (1982 R-Phils) has been named manager at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Hitting coach Sal Rende and former RPhils pitching coach Rod Nichols (2002-2004) will return to the Red Barons for their second seasons.

The minor league staffs for single-A Clearwater, single-A Lakewood, single-A Batavia and the rookie-level Gulf Coast Phillies will be announced at a later date.

All six minor league coordinators will return for the 2006 season: Mike Compton (Field), Gorman Heimueller (pitching), Don Long (hitting), Dave Owen (infield), Jerry Martin (outfield/baserunning) and Roly deArmas (catching). Heimueller was Reading's pitching coach in 1999 and 2001. Martin was an outfielder for the R-Phils in 1973 and deArmas a catcher in 1975.