Former Met Santana to manage Warthogs
Santana will be the skipper of the Winston-Salem Warthogs of the Class A Carolina League. It will be his first managerial job since retiring as a player after the 1990 season.
Santana makes his managing debut after serving as the White Sox Minor League infield rover in 2005. He has been in the White Sox organization coming on eight years and it will be his 12th in Minor League Baseball. Since retiring after the 1990 season, Santana has worked in the Boston, Chicago and Kansas City organizations. He spent the 2003 and 2004 as the Chicago White Sox first base coach and infield instructor.
Santana was the starting shortstop for the Amazin' Mets of 1986. He hit .246 with 113 home runs and 156 RBIs in 668 career Major League games with St. Louis, Cleveland, the New York Mets and Yankees.
In other Warthogs news, J.R. Perdew returns to Winston-Salem as pitching coach after serving in the same capacity for the Low A 2005 South Atlantic League-champion Kannapolis Intimidators. Perdew served as pitching coach for the Warthogs from 2002 to 2004.
Also, former Warthogs' outfielder Ryan Long was named hitting coach. Josh Fallin, the 2005 Carolina League Trainer of the Year, will return for his sixth season as the athletic trainer, while Raymond Smith will serve as the strength and conditioning coach.
Long begins his sixth season in the White Sox organization and first in Winston-Salem. Long was hitting coach for the Intimidators last year. He is a veteran of 10 Minor League seasons with a brief Major League stint in 1997 with the Kansas City Royals. In six games with the Royals, Long hit .222 with two RBIs. He collected his first Major League hit and RBI off Seattle's Randy Johnson on July 18, 1997.
Fallin begins his eighth season as an athletic trainer in the White Sox organization and sixth in Winston-Salem. He began his career with the White Sox in 1999 as the athletic trainer for the Class A Burlington Bees. Fallin is a certified member of the National Athletic Trainers' Association and graduated from New Mexico State, where he participated in track and field and served as a student trainer for football and baseball.
Chris Cron, who managed the Warthogs into the Carolina League playoffs last season, was promoted to manage at Double-A Birmingham, as were hitting coach Andy Tomberlin, strength coach Ryan Carroll.
Sean Snedeker, who was the Warthogs' pitching coach in 2005, will serve as the pitching coach in low A Kannapolis.
The Warthogs open the 2006 season at home against Kinston on April 6. It's the first time since 2000 the Warthogs have opened up at home.