Tampa Yankees announce 2009 coaching staff
There will be two newcomers joining them on the bench this season, Julius Matos, serving as hitting coach and coach Tim McIntosh.
Kris Russell will return to serve as the team's athletic trainer and strength coach, Jay Signorelli will also be returning.
Luis Sojo, 42, enters his fourth season as manager of the Tampa Yankees after spending previous seasons as a coach for the Yankees at the Major League level. He guided Tampa to a 72-65 overall record in 2008, finishing in third place. Under Sojo's tutelage, Tampa had 13 players promoted to Double A and higher with one player making their Major League debut.
Greg Pavlick, 57, begins his eighth season as the pitching coach for the Tampa Yankees. He began his coaching career in 1977 and spent 26 consecutive seasons in the New York Mets' organization before joining the New York Yankees. Pavlick oversaw a 2008 Tampa pitching staff that finished second in ERA and strikeouts. Under his guidance, Tampa pitchers threw 13 shutouts, the most of any team in the Florida State League.
Julius Matos, 34, will be entering his first season as the Tampa Yankees hitting coach in 2009. He made his professional coaching debut in 2008 as a coach for the Eastern League Champion, Trenton Thunder. He had a 13-year professional playing career in the Cleveland (1994-95), Arizona (1998-99), San Diego (2000-02, '06), Kansas City (2003), Toronto (2004, '05) and Montreal (2004) organizations. He also played in the Independent Northern League with Thunder Bay in 1995 and Sioux City in 1996. He saw Major League action with the Padres in 2002 and the Royals in 2003, combining to bat .244 (59-for-242) with 4 doubles, 4HR and 26RBI in 104 games. He was originally selected by Cleveland in the 16th round of the 1994 First-Year Player Draft.
Tim McIntosh, 43, will be making his professional coaching debut in 2009 as a coach for the Tampa Yankees. He spent the better part of 2008 as a scout for the Texas Rangers. From 2001-2003, he was a scout for the New York Yankees and was responsible for the signing of Yankees' prospect Phil Coke. McIntosh was drafted in the third round of the 1986 First-Year Player Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He made his Major League debut on September 3, 1990 for the Brewers. He also spent time with the Montreal Expos (1993), Minnesota Twins (1994) and New York Yankees (1996), while playing two years for the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan's Pacific League (1994-1996) before officially retiring in 1999.
Kris Russell, 27, returns for his second season as Tampa's trainer. Kris graduated from University of South Florida in 2004. He was hired by the Tampa Bay Rays in December 2004 and was a minor league trainer for them the past 3 years. In 2007 he was a trainer for Columbus Catfish in the South Atlantic league.
Jay Signorelli, will return for his second stint as the Tampa Yankees strength and conditioning coach. He held the same position in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization from 2006-'07. Prior to the Diamondbacks, he worked as an assistant strength and conditioning specialist for the International Performance Institute (IPI) at IMG Academies in Bradenton, FL and a Sport Performance Specialist for Velocity Sports Performance in Lakeland, FL. He played four years of college baseball at Manatee Community college, Florida Southern, and Tennessee Wesleyan College. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1998 First-Year Player Draft. He graduated from Tennessee Wesleyan College with a B.S. in Exercise Science and resides in Nashville, TN with wife Julia and son Brody.
The Tampa Yankees begin their 2009 season April 9th, on the road against the Lakeland Flying Tigers. For more information please call 813-875-7753 or visit www.tybaseball.com.