One MiLB Roster; Three Future Managers

It has been well documented that current Marlins manager Don Mattingly and former Orioles skipper “Buck” Showalter played together in the New York Yankees farm system while in the minor leagues.

Not widely as known is the fact that they had a teammate who has also gone on to managerial success.

Omaha manager Brian Poldberg suited up with Mattingly and Showalter for the 1981 Nashville Sounds, then the Yankees Double-A affiliate. And he, like the others, found a calling in baseball after playing.

Poldberg enters 2020 ranked 10th on the wins list for active MiLB managers. More than 400 of his 1,283 career victories have come with the Storm Chasers, whom he led to a Triple-A National Championship in 2014 during his first season in Omaha. He has also won league titles at the High-A and Double-A levels.

Every one of those MiLB victories have come with the Royals, the organization Poldberg joined as a player after two years in Nashville. The former catcher wrapped up his playing career in Omaha in 1985 and then quickly transitioned into coaching. His first managerial post came at Class-A Appleton in 1988.

“I was probably 28 when I started coaching, and I started managing (soon after),” Poldberg said. “At that point, you’re so excited to be in the game. You’ve turned over a new chapter – from playing to coaching.

“And to think, 30-plus years later, if you’re still in the game and still healthy enough to do things, you’ve had some luck. I’m just very fortunate to be around. Your record’s only as good as your players, and I have had some great players along the way. I’ve had some bad years, but I’ve had a lot of good years.”

The 2020 season will be Poldberg’s 21st as an MiLB manager. He had six as a minor-league player, and they made an impact on him. He quickly recalled his season with Mattingly and Showalter in Nashville.

The Sounds were loaded in 1981. In addition to Poldberg, Mattingly and Showalter, Nashville’s roster included future big-league outfielders Willie McGee and Otis Nixon as well as a young starter named Mike Morgan, who went on to pitch for 12 MLB teams. Mattingly, a six-time American League All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove winner who spent his entire career with the Yankees, was the team’s star.

The Sounds finished the regular season with a league-best 81-62 record. However, they lost to the East Division champion Orlando Twins, with Gary Gaetti and Frank Viola, in the league championship series.

“It’s fun to look back and see all the players with us. Those guys played for quite a bit of time,” Poldberg said. “I look back to coming up with the Yankees in my first three years and all of the people that I played with. And, now, I bring their names up to some of our guys, and they’re like, “Who’s that guy?”

“That tells me how long I’ve been in the game. But it’s fun to think of all the good times we had coming up, when nobody had any money. You were out there just hoping you had a jar of peanut butter in the clubhouse when you got done, just so you had something to eat. That’s how far the game has come.”