New Warriors GM
Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:19 pm
BREAKING: NEW GM ANNOUNCED AT WARRIOR HALL
It was already sweltering this morning at Warrior Hall when Jason Bong, surrounded by his family, announced to the large gathering of reporters that the search for the Warrior GM was at last over.
“Our family is proud to invest our trust in the intellect and charisma of Ricky McCoy,” Jason Bong announced with no small fanfare. As is tradition in Warrior Hall, the encased American flag given to Mrs. Richard Bong at her husband’s funeral was on display. This was particularly poignant, given that the new GM is a recently-retired Army officer.
But who is Richard McCoy?
This was the question of the morning—and although Mr. Bong seemed pleased with the decision, the family seemed rather pacific about surrendering the reins of their already-floundering franchise to a complete outsider and amateur.
A retired Lieutenant Colonel, McCoy was a West Point Left Fielder (Class of 2004) and All-Army coach. He ended his first year as an All-Army outfielder early to participate in the early days of Iraq. His PACOM team, based in Camp Humphreys, North Korea, is listed as the “FORSCOM All-Army Champions” for six out of his seven seasons as Head Coach.
While praising McCoy’s military service, the tense atmosphere of the question fielding was undeniable. Michael “Mad” Madigan of XWAR, host of the popular local call-in “War Room” show, got straight to business:
“Mr. McCoy, I don’t mean any disrespect, but why exactly should the city of Duluth trust a small-ball outsider with no professional experience to save a sinking ship?”
“You shouldn’t,” McCoy replied. “This is a great city who loves her baseball team. You have a right to be skeptical. Let’s have this talk a year from now, Mike, and see if that question doesn’t answer itself.”
Peter Bjornson of the Duluth Herald asked McCoy how he found himself at the helm of the franchise—a consistent .500 team with a recent championship.
“Honestly, it was providence,” McCoy answered simply. “Of course I knew Mark Kierstead from the Korean Leagues—he was, he still is, a big name over there, with all he’s done for the Asian leagues. I was involved in marketing and scouting out of Seoul. I was planning on accepting a position on the board of KT (Korean Telecommunications) when I got a call from Mr. Bong himself.”
McCoy, a big name in the Army Logistics community, finished is career as Deputy Chief of Staff of Sustainment, United States Forces Korea. He told the room of reporters he turned down a promotion to “fulfill his dream of coaching baseball before it was too late.”
“This club needs leadership,” Mr. Bong explained when his turn came to field. “We have the players, we have the fanbase—hell, we have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. We need someone who can take our vision and execute. Our family can’t think of one any better for that than a knowledgeable and passionate logistics guru with unparalleled leadership experience.”
One thing’s certain, “Colonel” McCoy is wasting no time taking the helm. Memorandums have been issued to all league levels, meetings are scheduled nonstop, and the wire is buzzing with rumors about possible trades and releases, as Duluth sinks deeper into a potential financial disaster at the end of the season.
But on Monday morning, in the decorated emerald walls of Warrior Hall, Colonel McCoy looks ready to do battle.
