New faces abound in Southern dugouts
Only three managers with same teams
By Nick Gates (Contact)
Originally published 07:03 p.m., February 7, 2009
Updated 07:03 p.m., February 7, 2009
Ryne Sandberg of the Tennessee Smokies will be one of seven new managers in the Southern League this season.
Mississippi's Phillip Wellman and Montgomery's Billy Gardner Jr., return for a third year, while Hector De La Cruz, who played for the Knoxville Smokies in 1988, is back for a second season with the Mobile BayBears.
Sandberg, who takes over from Buddy Bailey for the Chicago Cubs' Class AA affiliate, is one of five newcomers in the North Division.
Former major leaguer Phil Plantier was promoted by the Seattle Mariners from hitting coach to manager at West Tenn, while the Milwaukee Brewers replaced Don Money at Huntsville with longtime minor league manager Bob Miscik. Money was promoted to Triple-A Nashville.
Ex-major leaguer David Bell, son of former Kansas City Royals manager Buddy Bell, takes over the Carolina Mudcats, who are now affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. Matt Raleigh, brother of University of Tennessee coach Todd Raleigh, directed the Mudcats last season when they were tied with the Florida Marlins.
Bell's pitching coach will be Tom Browning.
Browning, 47, pitched for Tennessee Wesleyan before signing with the Reds. The left-hander won 123 games over a 12-year career, including a perfect game in 1988 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
John Valentin, who played 11 years in the major leagues, takes over for Mike Goff at Chattanooga, where the Lookouts begin a two-year working agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Valentin's hitting coach is ex-major leaguer Luis Salazar.
Jacksonville, where John Shoemaker ran things last season, hooked up with the Marlins and Florida has assigned Brandon Hyde to manage.
Hyde, who starts his fifth season as a minor league manager with the Suns, but is no stranger to the SL. He managed the Carolina Mudcats in 2007 and has a 269-234 career record.
The Chicago White Sox hired Everardo Magallanes, who managed in the Los Angeles Angels' farm system the past three years, and assigned him to manage the Birmingham Barons.
Sandberg, who managed Peoria, the Cubs' Class A affiliate in the Midwest League the past two seasons, will report to Chicago's major league training camp at HoHoKam in Mesa, Ariz, in two weeks to begin workouts.
Chicago's minor leaguer pitchers and catchers report March 6 and the first workout for position players will be March 12. The Smokies begin regular-season play April 9 at Jacksonville and the home opener is April 15 against Birmingham.
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