Tagged: dyar miller
Meet the Manager
Just last month the Memphis Redbirds bid adieu to Chris “Hammer” Maloney and welcomed a new face to the managerial position, Ron “Pop” Warner.
The former Double-A Cardinals manager spent five years with the team in Springfield, MO. While with the S-Cards, Warner went 364-347 (.512) in the Texas League. This will be his first time as a manager in the Pacific Coast League but not his first time as part of the PCL. Pop was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1991 in the 17th round of the first-year player draft. Warner spent nine years in the Cardinals organization and played for Memphis from 1998-99 at Tim McCarver Stadium.
The 41-year-old hit .290 in 1999 at Tim McCarver Stadium while collecting 11 home runs and 33 RBI as a Redbird. In 2000, Warner made his transition to a coach when he served as the Cardinals batting practice pitcher. His previous coaching jobs include the New Haven Ravens (2001), New Jersey Cardinals (2002), Johnson City Cardinals (2003), Swing of Quad Cities (2004) and Palm Beach Cardinals (2005-06) before taking the job with the Springfield Cardinals in 2007.
Pop replaces previous manager, Hammer, who was promoted to first base coach with the St. Louis Cardinals. Maloney led the Redbirds to a 367-350 (.512) record in his five years as manager, becoming the club’s all-time winningest manager as he surpassed former skipper Gaylen Pitts (364 wins) this past season.
Pitching coach Blaise Ilsley and hitting coach Mark Budaska will both return to Memphis for their fifth season. Ilsley’s pitchers posted a 4.10 ERA, the lowest in the Pacific Coast League, while Budaska coached his hitters to a .270 average last season.
The Redbirds also say goodbye to long-time Athletic Trainer Christophe LaMonte Conroy. After seven years of service with the Memphis Redbirds, Conroy received his call up to the big leagues and will join the St. Louis Cardinals for the 2012 season as their Assistant Athletic Trainer. You will be missed CC, but we are more than proud of you!
What To Know About Bobblehead #6
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Born: May 29, 1946 at Batesville, Indiana
Began coaching in the St. Louis farm system in 1985 (Arkansas), but left in 1987. He later rejoined the organization in 1995.
Back in his playing days, Miller was first signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies, but didn’t see any major league time until he joined with the Baltimore Orioles. He made his major league debut on June 9, 1975 against the Oakland Athletics, entering the game in the 14th inning. Miller was a career reliever, only starting one major league game.
Miller’s last big league appearance was on September 2, 1981. He finished with a career 23-17 major league record, 22 saves and a 3.23 ERA over 11 combined seasons with the Orioles, Angels, Blue Jays and Mets.
The Dyar Miller bobblehead (above), the sixth of the 2009 collection, will be given away to the first 1,500 fans to arrive at Tuesday’s home game against the division-leading Nashville Sounds. Gates for the game open at 6:00 P.M.
Spring Training is Fun
Director of Communications Kyle Parkinson is at Spring Training this week which means updates from Jupiter on Chirp Chatter all week. This is the first official non-Ben and Alex post on this blog and I promise I will not use awesomeness in any of the headlines this week.
The Redbirds traveling party arrived yesterday in time to catch the majority of the ‘Birds loss to New Orleans and have dinner with athletic trainer Chris Conroy. It’s hard to believe we’ve already been here for two days. And when I say we I mean myself, President of Baseball Operations/GM Dave Chase, President of Business Operations Bill Harter and Broadcaster Steve Selby. The two days we
have been here have been action packed, we’ve seen the ‘Birds lose a game, win a game, talked with our field staff, caught up with former Memphis manager Gaylen Pitts and pitching coach Dyar Miller, watched a few innings of the Marlins/Twins and I already have a pretty good tan going which is tantastic.
Today’s game against Springfield was a great chance to see players that are on our team and players that will likely be on our team at some point in the future. Normally, we don’t get much of a chance to see the players on the Springfield roster due to them playing on another field at the same time the Redbirds are playing. Mitchell Boggs and Clayton Mortensen were both strong in their three-inning efforts. Boggs pitched against the Redbirds which was a little weird to watch him head to the other dugout after the inning. The ‘Birds
infield had a new look to it with Jarrett Hoffpauir at third, Tyler Greene at shortstop, Casey Rowlett at second and Nick Stavinoha at first. Out of those four only Greene played the position he played today for the Redbirds last season. It looks like the word for this camp is versatility.
Chirp Chatter 