COACHING STAFF FULL OF MAJOR LEAGUE FLAVOR
With Opening Day a mere 78 days away, the Blue Wahoos 2014 roster is starting to take shape with the announcement of this years' coaching staff featuring decades of Big League experience. A familiar face in Delino DeShields will return at the helm to manage the team with the assistance of former Major League standout Jeff Fassero as the pitching coach and former Big Leaguer Alex Pelaez to serve as the hitting coach.
"This upcoming season will be an exciting one for the Wahoos, starting with our exhibition game and hopefully ending with a successful playoff run, and we believe that we have the field staff in place to achieve our goals," said Reds Director of Player Development Jeff Graupe.
DeShields returns after his team narrowly missed the postseason with a nearly 10-game improvement in the second half of the season in his first year as a Double-A manager. During his 13 year Major League career, the Wahoos skipper spent parts of five of those seasons with his new pitching coach. He and Fassero were teammates with the Montreal Expos from 1991-1993 and again in parts of the 2001-2002 seasons with the Chicago Cubs.
Fassero went on to play 16 years with nine different Major League teams beginning with the Expos in 1990 before he retired with the San Francisco Giants following the 2006 season. Fassero amassed 121 wins in more than 240 starts while logging more than 2000 innings over his lengthy career. He finished in the top 10 in Cy Young Award voting following an exceptional year with the Expos in 1996 when he won 15 games with a 3.30 ERA. He led the league in starts the following year with 35 as the anchor of the American League West Division Champion Seattle Mariners. Fassero helped lead three different organizations to the postseason in four different seasons. He pitched in six postseason games with Seattle, Texas and St. Louis earning a career playoff record of 3-0.
Fassero is no stranger to the Southern League. He served as the pitching coach for league foe Tennessee the last two seasons. The lefty spent four seasons coaching in the Cubs organization with stops in Boise (Short Season-A), Peoria (Single-A) and Tennessee.
Pelaez will be in his first season as a Double-A hitting coach. He has served as a professional hitting coach for five seasons, all in the Reds organization. The last three years, he helped the Reds develop hitters in Dayton after stints in the Gulf Coast League and Billings. As a player, he spent eight seasons in the minor leagues with the Padres, Angels and Reds. He made it to the Big Leagues in 2002 with San Diego.
Charles Leddon will again serve as the Blue Wahoos trainer. He has held that role for the first two seasons of the Wahoos existence. Tom Brown, who served as the Blue Wahoos pitching coach for the last two years, has been assigned to coach the Reds Arizona League club in Goodyear. Last year's hitting coach, Dick Schofield, will get his first opportunity to manage in the Reds system with the Billings Mustangs this summer.
The excitement of Blue Wahoos baseball returns to the Bayfront Stadium on Friday, March 28 when they welcome Pensacola's parent club, the Cincinnati Reds to Pensacola.
- Pensacola Blue Wahoos -
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. During the first two years of operation, the Blue Wahoos were awarded Best Minor League Experience, Southern League Community Service Award, Groundskeeper of the Year, Ballpark of the Year, Executive of the Year and Organization of the year. Fans can get information regarding 2014 ticket plans by calling the box office at (850) 934-8444 or in person at the Hill Kelly Dodge Pickup Window. Follow the Blue Wahoos at bluewahoos.com, facebook.com/PensacolaBlueWahoos, and twitter.com/BlueWahoosBBall.