Pirates announce Minor League staff
The staff led the 2009 Spikes' to a 38-38 record and a third place finish in the New York-Penn League's Pinckney Division. The 38 victories represented an increase of 20 wins from the 2008 campaign, when State College posted the NYPL's worst record at 18-56 (.243).
Robinson becomes the first manager in Spikes' history to return for a second season. None of the club's first three skippers - Mark DeJohn (2006), Turner Ward (2007) or Brad Fischer (2008) - spent more than one year in State College. The 57-year old native of North Carolina made his minor league managerial debut with the Spikes in 2009, and also made his return to a professional dugout for the first time since 1998, when he served as pitching coach for the Montreal Expos' Gulf Coast League affiliate. Robinson had spent the previous decade working for the Major League Baseball Commissioner's Office as a Triple-A umpire evaluator and also as an administrator for the Union County School District in North Carolina.
Gary, who resides in Concord, NC, enjoyed a successful 10-year run as the head baseball coach at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte from 1982-91. The 49ers compiled a record of 280-244-3 during that span and won 30 or more games five times. Following his collegiate coaching career, Robinson worked as a scout for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies from 1991-97.
Steele, 31, enters his second season as Spikes' pitching coach and third overall in the Pittsburgh system. Under Steele's watch in 2009, the Spikes' staff finished fifth in the 14-team NYPL with an outstanding 3.27 ERA. State College hurlers also issued a league-low 198 walks in 655 1/3 innings. A native of Michigan, Mike first joined the Pirates' organization mid-way through the 2008 campaign, when he was named pitching coach at Advanced Class-A Lynchburg in the Carolina League. Prior to that assignment, he served as pitching coach at Michigan State University. As a player, Steele spent six seasons as a pitcher in the Detroit and Seattle organizations after starring at Central Michigan University.
Moore, 36, will enter his 10th campaign as a hitting coach, and his sixth in the Pirates' system. The Alabama native was Spikes' hitting coach for the first time in 2009 after spending three years in the same capacity with the Double-A Altoona Curve. As a player, "B-Mo" was a shortstop in the Chicago White Sox organization from 1994-2000, reaching the Triple-A level in his final two seasons. He broke into coaching with the Sox as a minor league hitting coach from 2001-2004.
Zalno, who makes his off-season residence in State College, is back for his fourth season as the Spikes' athletic trainer and his eighth year in the Pirates' system. Mike joined Pittsburgh in 2003 and has worked at rookie-level Bradenton (2003-04), Williamsport (2005) and Hickory (2006) prior to his time with State College.
In addition to the stability in the Spikes' coaching staff for next season, the same holds true for the other five levels in the Pirates' minor league system. Other managers returning to their respective clubs in the Bucs' organization for 2010 are Frank Kremblas (Indianapolis-AAA), Matt Walbeck (Altoona-AA), P.J. Forbes (Bradenton-A), Gary Green (West Virginia-A) and Tom Prince (Bradenton-Rookie).
Complete 2010 Pirates' minor league coaching staffs are listed below:
• Indianapolis (AAA): Kremblas, Dean Treanor (Pitching Coach), Jeff Branson (Hitting Coach), Thomas Pribyl (Trainer)
• Altoona (AA): Walbeck, Tom Filer (Pitching Coach), Ryan Long (Hitting Coach), Bryan Housand (Trainer)
• Bradenton (A): Forbes, Wally Whitehurst (Pitching Coach), Dave Howard (Hitting Coach), Keito Homma (Trainer)
• West Virginia (A): Green, Jeff Johnson (Pitching Coach), Edgar Valera (Hitting Coach), Dru Scott (Trainer)
• State College (Short-A): Robinson, Steele, Moore, Zalno
• Bradenton (Rookie): Prince, Miguel Bonilla (Pitching Coach), Rudy Pena (Coach), Woody Huyke (Coach), Mike Lum (Coach), Jose Ministral (Trainer)
State College Spikes 2010 season tickets are currently on-sale to the general public and offer numerous perks and season-ticket-holder-only benefits, including discounted pricing compared to single-game ticket prices, the "Never Lose A Seat Campaign", which allows unused seats from past games to be redeemed for Outfield Bleacher seats to future games, your own personal ticket account representative to assist in the management of your seats, food and merchandise discounts, invitation to exclusive team events and much more. For more information on the great benefits of being a Spikes season ticket holder please contact the Spikes at (814) 272-1711 or toll-free (877) 99-SPIKES. Additional information can be found on-line at StateCollegeSpikes.com .