2029-30 Offseason Rookie League Coach Appointments

[DougO]

Wagga Wagga Crows
Manager and Coaching Hires

Manager -- TBD

Hitting Coach -- Razan Sanu
Retired outfielder, Razan Sanu was a pesky hitter for the Naha Shisa from 2010-2015. A leader on the field and off, Sanu recieved high praise for his baseball intelligence and humble nature. He ranks in the top ten in many career offensive categories for the Okinawa organization: Batting Average .298 (4th); Slugging .454 (9th); Games Played 692 (9th); Hits 692 (9th); Singles 501 (9th); and, Stolen Bases 170 (4th).

Pitching Coach -- Yoshihisa Sato
A tenacious work ethic and high leadership skills propelled Sato in his four seasons with the Shisa from 2024-2027. During those seasons, Sato's groundball-inducing pitching led him to an ERA of 3.97 over 662.1 innings, ninth best in Okinawa history.

[Borealis]

Wagga Wagga Crows
Manager and Coaching Hires

Manager -- Felix 'Cyclone' Maese
'Cyclone' spent the last five seasons (2023-2027) of his illustrious career in Okinawa where his great leadership skills and intelligence were valued. His Okinawa ERA of 3.36 over 796.2 innings ranks him fourth best in organizational history. He is also 10th in wins (47), 8th in losses (39), 5th in Pitcher WAR (19.0), 8th in Games Started (125), 4th in Complete Games (14), 4th in Shutouts (3), and 10th in Strikeouts (579).

Hey Doug!

I think the Bears beat you to the punch...

Bakersfield appoints former SP, four time all-star, and All-Leather Award winner Felix Maese as the manager for the Punta Cana Mamajuanas.

[Alleghenies]

Aruba Coach selections:

Manager: TBD (signing FA)
Hitting coach : Ronald Harmon Ronald spent years 24-30 in WV and demolished the ball. He had 217 Homers with WV and 325 in his career. The fans are excited to see him come back.
Pitching coach: Manuel "Mayor"Corona He recently retired and while injuries hampered his post-seasons for WV he was well liked in his 4 years here. So 214 game winner has a job again.

[Sandgnats]

Mogadishu Pirates
Manager and Coaching Hires

Manager -- Nelson 'Nails' Anderson The Sandgnats current record holder for strikeouts and wins returns to tutelage the young Gnats to be.

Hitting Coach -- Eduardo 'Pappy' Molina
The Sangnats All-time leader in games played, hits and home runs comes back to the Gnats organization after playing left field from 2010 through 2018 where he hit for a career average of .316 and hit 264 home runs in that same span. Pappy is also a 3 time all-star.

Pitching Coach -- Ramón 'Doberman' Contreras
The Dawg Pack heads to Somalia. Known for a section of fans in the upper left field called the Dawg Pack, Doberman Contreras pitched in relief for the Crystal Lake Sandgnats from 2018 through 2025 leading the Gnats to its first ever PEBA Championship in 2024 as its closer. Doberman was also a 3 time all-star. He finished his career allowing a .225 OBA and converting .823 of save opportunities.

[Fishermen]

Jeonju Shamans

Manager - Ralph Gunther
Ralph Gunther is the Luis Cedeno of the Omaha era, the OG star 3B was one of the greatest Omaha player from 2013 to 2016:

2013 - SL ALl-Leather 3B
2014 - 7.3 WAR, league high in HR with 38
2015 - 6.0 WAR
2016 - 4.0 WAR, SL All-Leather 3B, SL All-Star

Gunther is top 4 in career WAR for the Omaha/Hartford franchise with 23.4 and is also top 10 in various categories from SLG to OPS. In short, Ralph is a versatile batter with many tools.

Batter Coach - Jason Corbett
Jason Corbett spent the first half (and a little bit more) of his career with the Omaha and maintained an impressive slashline of .291/.350/.463 as a Hurricane. A 2 times Omaha All-Stars(2015, 2018), Corbett is a versatile batter who can hit for both power and contact.

Pitching Coach - Ray Graham
Recently retired starting pitcher who spent majority of his PEBA career - pitched 1450.1 IP over 1,540 IP of his entire career - in Hartford. Ray Graham is an 1 time All-Star with a career year in 2025 and is the current win leader of Harpoons with 80.

[Borealis]

The Aurora Borealis announce their coaching staff for the Inaugural Intercontinental Baseball Coalition 2030 season.

Montserrat Mystique

Manager: Michael Burton
The 43-year old Burton may not have the glitter and glamour of his big-name teammates, but this 8-year, part time Auroran (2012-2019) was a career .281 hitter for the Borealis over 482 games. 2018 was his career year, where in 125 games he hit .292 with 18 HR and 63 RBI. He was satisfied to run back-up to Cory Pierce, En-guo Guao, John Knight and Matt Ferrell. He was on the 2019 title team before leaving for Okinawa, playing for Naha in the LRS' last season, finishing out his career with the Shisa after the 2022 season. Burton was known for being a tireless worker, and one of those guys who was always at the center of the huddle - no matter what his status with the club. Don't expect any tricks out on the field, but do expect that the Mystique will be a tight ship.

Pitching Coach: George Thompson
'King' George was an original member of the Borealis and lead the PEBA in GS in that inaugural season (33). The following two seasons he lead the league in K's (266, 276). He was an key member of the rotation over the first 6 seasons, before his skill set began to diminish. He was 97-37 for Aurora with a 3.03 ERA before leaving for the 2014 season when he was traded to San Antonio. He finished that year at Kentucky before retiring. Thompson was always regarded as a thoughtful, hard-worker and his personable nature should help the young arms heading to the Caribbean.

Hitting Coach: Chris Weaver
Chris is another original Borealis who was a 3-time All-Star who hit .319 in 786 games for Aurora (2007-2012), but he was a clutch performer, hitting .347 with 9 HR and 37 RBI in 58 playoff games on The Front Range. Weaver left for free agency after the 2012 season, but ended up sitting out a season before joining New Jersey in 2014. That 2014 season was a solid one for Weaver, but he nosedived in 2016 (after missing 2015) and retired. Like his former teammate, Thompson, Weaver is a studious type who will expect his charges to put in long hours in the batting cage.


(as an aside, it was amazing to find out how many former Aurora players and stars were of low leadership abilities - it was frightening. I guess Aurora continued to win despite themselves all these years)

[Akira]

Neo-Tokyo announces their coaching staff for the Daegu Dragons inaugural season of the Intercontinental Baseball Coalition:

Manager: Enrique Ortiz. Part of the Akira's first Neo-Tokyo Cup winning team, Ortiz was signed out of the Alianza Beisbal Al Sur de la Frontera league as a free agent in 2012. While his tenure was relatively short he holds a number of career batting records including OBP, WAR, OPS, Slugging and is second in HR and BA. The 47 year old retired in 2018 and hails from Apodaca, Mexico.

Pitching Coach: Takiji Shiskikura. A former first overall pick, 'Bad News' holds numerous career pitching records for Neo-Tokyo including Wins, WAR, GS, IP, K and WHIP. The 41 year old from Utsunomiya, Japan retired in 2016.

Hitting Coach: Iemochi Suzuki. OF Suzuki was a 4 time All-Star for Neo-Tokyo and ranks in the top ten in numerous career offensive categories. The 38 year old retired in 2025 and was born right here in Tokyo, Japan.

[DrewV]

The Duluth Warriors Franchise is proud to announce the staff for the inaugural season of the Suwon Morning Swords.

Suwon Morning Swords


Manager: Pat Holman

Few denizens of the Emerald Halls of Duluth do not pay homage to the longtime hero of the Warriors organization, Pat Holman. The 41-year-old warhose catcher was an original 2007 rookie of PEBA, starting for 14 seasons. His number "1" is the only retired number in Duluth.

Pitching Coach: Ben "Hit Squad" Thomas

Ben Thomas, 42, was a longtime closer for the Warriors. He is a 2-time All-Star and 2009 draftee, averaging over 30 saves per season.


Hitting Coach: Angel Cortez

The 3-time all-star Angel Cortez was drafted in 2010 by the West Virginia CoalSox. Be was traded in 2014 to the Warriors, where he would earn three All-Star appearances over six years. He still claims the highest single-season Slugging and Runs in franchise history.

[DougO]

2nd Try --

Wagga Wagga Crows Manager Hire

Ton "Dracula" Nakamura (he's currently an unemployed scout)

[Leones]

2nd Try --

Wagga Wagga Crows Manager Hire

Ton "Dracula" Nakamura (he's currently an unemployed scout)

Wow. there's a name I had not heard in a while. Nice pick.

[Lions]

My hitting coach hasn't been added yet. Not sure if that's because he just retired. Just wanted to make sure it didn't get lost in the shuffle.

Thanks!

[Borealis]

My hitting coach hasn't been added yet. Not sure if that's because he just retired. Just wanted to make sure it didn't get lost in the shuffle.

Hey Frank! Not sure why he's not there, but I will try to get him in there on Wednesday!

[Malts]

Hitting Coach will be Ronald Lowry as he has my team's all time HR, runs, and plate appearance records.
Pitching Coach will be Luis Gusman as he led my team in strikeouts, innings pitched and number of complete games pitched.
Manager will be John Mathews another pitcher of note for the Lions history books.

[Lions]

Hitting Coach will be Ronald Lowry as he has my team's all time HR, runs, and plate appearance records.
Pitching Coach will be Luis Gusman as he led my team in strikeouts, innings pitched and number of complete games pitched.
Manager will be John Mathews another pitcher of note for the Lions history books.

Love these!