Roadcap to helm R-Phils in 2009
Pennsylvania native Steve Roadcap becomes the 23rd manager in the Reading Phillies' 43-year history. Also new to the R-Phils staff is pitching coach Steve Schrenk. Frank Cacciatore (coach), Chris Mudd (athletic trainer) and Justin Zabrosky (athletic trainer/strength and conditioning specialist) will all return from the 2008 club.
Born in Pottsville, Roadcap grew up in nearby Spring Glen, on the Dauphin and Schuylkill County line. He graduated from Upper Dauphin High School.
Roadcap has been in player development for 22 seasons with the Cubs, Mariners and Phillies. He has spent 17 seasons as a manager, four as coordinator and one as a pitching coach. He joined the Phillies in 2006 as the manager at Batavia. He spent 2007-2008 with Class A Lakewood in the South Atlantic League. He led the BlueClaws to the best overall record (80-60) in the SAL Northern Division in 2008 following a 69-65 campaign in 2007. He has helped develop many future Major Leaguers, owns a career record of 985-1,019 (.493), qualified for his league's playoffs four times and led Inland Empire (Mariners) to the California League championship in 2003.
A catcher during his playing days, Roadcap played in the Cubs' Minor League system from 1982-86 making it as high as Triple-A. He played for Pittsfield in the Eastern League in 1985 and briefly again in 1986. He was a teammate of Reading Baseball Hall of Famer and former R-Phils manager Gary Varsho with Pittsfield. Roadcap has followed Varsho once before. He took over as manager of the Midwest League's Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Mariners) in 1999 after Varsho left to begin his three-year stint as the R-Phils skipper.
Schrenk began coaching professional teams in 2004 at Clearwater (Class A Advanced Florida State League). He spent 2005-2006 at Lakewood before returning to Clearwater the past two seasons. A fourth round pick of the White Sox in 1987, he pitched professionally through 2002 and appeared in 52 games in the big leagues with the Phillies for parts of the 1999 and 2000 seasons. He was 88-72 in the Minors with a 3.35 career ERA.
Cacciatore, who was an R-Phils coach in 2008, his first in the Phillies system, has over 20 years of experience in player development. He has been managing or coaching in the Minor Leagues since 1988. He has worked for Houston (1988-92), San Francisco (1993-98), Florida (1999-01), Montreal/Washington (2002-05) and the New York Mets (2006-07). An Eastern League veteran, Cacciatore managed Portland, then a Marlins affiliate, in 1999 and was the hitting coach for Harrisburg in 2002 and 2005.
P.J. Forbes, who managed Reading from 2006-2008, is now the Phillies' Minor League bunting/baserunning coordinator. As all coordinators do, Forbes will visit the R-Phils and other Phillies affiliates, providing prospects supplemental instruction. Tom Filer, the R-Phils pitching coach from 2005-2008, takes over at Class A Short-Season Williamsport in the New York-Penn League.