Shocking Personnel Change
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2019 4:53 pm
The phone rang on Saturday night July the 21st. When GM Abcarian answered it, he never in a million years expected Koshiro Matsuoka to be on the other end of the phone. The Monsters had just lost a game 4-1 on the road, but other than that everything seemed to be going great down there. Well Coach Matsuoka felt much differently and wanted a change. He had been a manager in college and then came to the West Virginia organization in 2026 as a hitting coach and then promoted to manager last year. In his 1 year as manager for the Monsters, he broke the All-Time (including play-offs) win record and percentage in SA history. He also won manager of the year last year and had the same win percentage this year as he did the season before. What was wrong then?
“I love the game of baseball and I love teaching, but I hate traveling. It wears you down and it makes me feel ill at times. I signed a 4-year extension this year and was planning to stay, but I have been battling bad migraines and I figured it was time to stop. So, when I called GM Abcarian, he was a perfect gentleman about it, he even said he would transfer me to the AGM role if I wanted. It’s exactly what I need right now. I am not saying I won’t coach again, but currently I needed to think about my health. Also, I get to stay in the organization and work ½ the time in WV and the other half in Japan, “said Koshiro Matsuoka.
“While it is a shock that one of the best managers in baseball decided not to be a manager anymore, I knew I couldn’t let him leave baseball. I will groom him to become a GM someday hopefully, but even more so, hopefully help him get back into managing. He is a winner and I look for great things to come from him, now we are having him stay in the offices here for the next week to get up to speed and then let him go back to Japan for a month or two to get ready for the off-season Abcarian said.
So, who is the new coach for the Monsters? The team signed former player Chad Collins to a 3-year deal at 100k per year. Chad played 4 years in the PEBA and all with Crystal Lake with 2020 being his last. While in the PEBA he was very productive for 2 of them achieving 3.2 and 4.9 WAR. This is his first job in baseball since retiring as a player and while he has not gained a reputation yet, the rumor is he is excellent at developing players and has very good relationship skills. In his first week he went 3-1 and the team performed on par as they did under the previous manager. There are big things expected from Chad, but the organization understands that there should be a learning curve for him also.
“I was given only praise whenever I asked people about Chad Collins. He blew me away in our interview with how intelligent he is and how personable he seemed. I wanted to make he wasn’t just putting up a false front with me and everyone I talked with said he was as genuine a guy as you could ever meet and smart as a whip. I offered him a 3-year deal and he accepted right away and hit the ground running, winning his first 3. His first loss was 1-0 in 10 innings. Can’t fault him on that. I am positive he will do great,” GM Abcarian was quoted.
“I love the game of baseball and I love teaching, but I hate traveling. It wears you down and it makes me feel ill at times. I signed a 4-year extension this year and was planning to stay, but I have been battling bad migraines and I figured it was time to stop. So, when I called GM Abcarian, he was a perfect gentleman about it, he even said he would transfer me to the AGM role if I wanted. It’s exactly what I need right now. I am not saying I won’t coach again, but currently I needed to think about my health. Also, I get to stay in the organization and work ½ the time in WV and the other half in Japan, “said Koshiro Matsuoka.
“While it is a shock that one of the best managers in baseball decided not to be a manager anymore, I knew I couldn’t let him leave baseball. I will groom him to become a GM someday hopefully, but even more so, hopefully help him get back into managing. He is a winner and I look for great things to come from him, now we are having him stay in the offices here for the next week to get up to speed and then let him go back to Japan for a month or two to get ready for the off-season Abcarian said.
So, who is the new coach for the Monsters? The team signed former player Chad Collins to a 3-year deal at 100k per year. Chad played 4 years in the PEBA and all with Crystal Lake with 2020 being his last. While in the PEBA he was very productive for 2 of them achieving 3.2 and 4.9 WAR. This is his first job in baseball since retiring as a player and while he has not gained a reputation yet, the rumor is he is excellent at developing players and has very good relationship skills. In his first week he went 3-1 and the team performed on par as they did under the previous manager. There are big things expected from Chad, but the organization understands that there should be a learning curve for him also.
“I was given only praise whenever I asked people about Chad Collins. He blew me away in our interview with how intelligent he is and how personable he seemed. I wanted to make he wasn’t just putting up a false front with me and everyone I talked with said he was as genuine a guy as you could ever meet and smart as a whip. I offered him a 3-year deal and he accepted right away and hit the ground running, winning his first 3. His first loss was 1-0 in 10 innings. Can’t fault him on that. I am positive he will do great,” GM Abcarian was quoted.