Cubs' Brandon Hyde to appear at Smokies Park

Current Chicago Cubs Director of Player Development Brandon Hyde will be at Smokies Park as the Tennessee Smokies' guest on Monday, February 4. Hyde will be in attendance at the team's noon luncheon in his honor at the Double Play Café restaurant inside the stadium.

This event is not open to the public. The event will be attended by Smokies season ticket holders, corporate partners and members of the media wishing to cover the event.

Hyde, 39, was named the Cubs director of player development on August 29, 2012, having joined the Cubs organization last offseason as the club's minor league field coordinator. He spend the previous nine season with the Marlins organization, most recently as the club's major league bench coach from June 23, 2010 through the end of the 2011 season. Prior to working with the big league club, Hyde was the club's minor league infield coordinator in 2010 and spent the previous seven seasons as a minor league manager and coach.

In 2009, Hyde guided Double-A Jacksonville to the Southern League Championship over the Smokies 3-games-to-1. He also managed three seasons in Single-A (2005-06, Greensboro; 2008, Jupiter) and one year at Double-A Carolina (2007). He joined the Marlins organization in 2003 as hitting coach at Single-A Greensboro.

Hyde spent four seasons as a player with the White Sox organization from 1997-2000 as a catcher/first baseman. He was a coach for Long Beach State University in 2002 and joined the Marlins organization a year later.