ENTIRE FIELD STAFF RETURNS IN 2010
The quartet led the Blue Rocks to a league-best 84 wins in 2009 and the franchise's 14th playoff appearance in its 17 seasons of existence. Wilmington took the eventual Carolina League champion Lynchburg Hillcats to a full five games before a road loss in the Northern Division Championship Series clincher.
On the heels of a 73-win season and a Midwest League title for the Low-A Burlington Bees, Rupp skippered the Blue Crew to even greater regular-season success. The season included a franchise-record 12-game winning streak for a Blue Rocks team that lead the entire Kansas City farm in wins and winning percentage (.604).
The 2010 campaign will be Rupp's seventh season in the Royals organization and 10th as a minor league manager. His career managerial record sits at 445-418 (.516). His resume also boasts five playoff appearances, two trips to a league final and one championship. Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 43rd round of the 1992 draft, Rupp played for seven seasons in the Cardinals minor league system, mostly as a first baseman and outfielder. He reached as high as the Triple-A level. The former University of Missouri-St. Louis Triton won both the Arizona League batting title and MVP award in his first professional season. He also collected the South Atlantic League's batting crown in 1993 and hit .295 on his career over 742 games.
After his playing career, Rupp joined the Cardinals minor league coaching staff and served as manager for Low-A Peoria (1999), Short-Season New Jersey (2001) and Rookie Johnson City (2002). He also spent the 2000 season as hitting coach for Double-A Arkansas. After joining the Royals organization, he managed Idaho Falls from 2004-07 before mentoring the Bees in 2008. The 38-year-old resides in Florissant, MO with his wife, Stacie, and son, Andrew.
Gemoll played a pivotal role in the offensive development of Wilmington's prospect-laden squad in 2009. Hitting in a very pitching-friendly ballpark can prove daunting, but Blue Rocks first baseman Clint Robinson still posted the second-best batting average in the league (.298) and led all Carolina Leaguers with at least 100 games played. The "Alabama Hammer" logged a .463 slugging percentage as well, good for fifth in the CL. Top organizational prospect Mike Moustakas belted 16 home runs to lead the team, the most by a Blue Rock in a decade, and drove in 86 runs. That RBI total ranked third in the league and placed Moustakas' efforts among the top three single-season RBI marks in franchise history. As a team, the Blue Rocks assembled he circuit's fourth-best batting average (.256), just two points behind the Potomac Nationals.
Gemoll hit .310 as a Carolina League All-Star third baseman in 2002 with Wilmington, arguably his best season as a professional player. The former USC Trojan reached as high as Triple-A Omaha (PCL) in 2005. He retired after an abbreviated 2006 season with Double-A Wichita. In seven seasons as a minor leaguer, Gemoll was a .276 career hitter over 597 games and 2,121 at-bats. He began his college career at UC Santa Barbara before transferring to USC for his last two seasons, including a run to the College World Series in 2000. Gemoll entered the coaching profession in 2008 when he served as the hitting coach of the Rookie Surprise Royals in the Arizona League. His squad went 23-33, including a 15-13 showing in the first half. Gemoll tutored Deivy Batista during the season, who tied for the ninth-best batting average in the league (.317), a 74-point improvement over the utility infielder's 2007 campaign in the Dominican Summer League. Born in South Lake Tahoe, CA, the 32-year-old Gemoll lives in Surprise, AZ.
Luebber returns for a fourth season as the pitching coach for the Blue Rocks. Luebber, a Clinton, MO native, will enter his 43rd season in the game. Luebber joined the Royals in 2006 with the Low-A Burlington Bees (MWL) after five years as the Double-A pitching coach for the Texas Rangers. Twice over his first three seasons on the Riverfront his mentoring helped the Blue Rocks lead the Carolina League in team ERA. The 2009 season saw Wilmington pitchers combined for a league-low 3.10 team ERA. That included a 2.98 mark from southpaw Danny Duffy, placing him fourth in the league. His 125 strikeouts ranked third. Eduardo Paulo won a team-high 10 games, good for fourth in the circuit, and his 3.63 ERA had him eighth. Both Duffy and Paulino finished among the CL's top five in WHIP. Closer Brandon Sisk saved 21 games despite grabbing exclusive possession of the closer's role after the All-Star break.
Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 1967 amateur draft, Luebber made his big-league debut on June 27, 1971, starting the backend of a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers. He pitched professionally for 17 seasons and posted a 6-10 record and a 4.62 ERA over 66 major league appearances for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles. The 59-year-old lives in Joplin, MO. He attended Missouri Southern College and has two daughters, Lindsey and Carly, and a son, Wyatt.
Iannicca joined Wilmington in 2008 after spending the 2007 season with the Rookie Burlington Royals in the Appalachian League. Prior to joining the Royals, Iannicca spent the 2006 campaign as athletic trainer for the Atlanta Braves Gulf Coast League affiliate in Orlando, FL. Iannicca was an athletic training intern in the New York Yankees organization from 2003-04, working with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers and at the Yankees Player Development Complex in Tampa. He has also worked as an athletic trainer at the collegiate level as a graduate assistant at Virginia Wesleyan College. He earned his bachelor of science degree in athletic training from Bowling Green State University in 2003 and his master's of science in education degree from Old Dominion University in 2006.
The Blue Rocks will open play in 2010 on April 8 in Myrtle Beach, SC against the Pelicans. The home opener comes on April 16 with the first of a record 15 fireworks shows at Frawley Stadium this season as the Blue Crew hosts the Potomac Nationals. Every Friday in 2010 will have post-game fireworks at Frawley.
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