TONY DeFRANCESCO NAMED MANAGER OF THE
LAS VEGAS 51S FOR THE 2018 CAMPAIGN;
GLENN ABBOTT NAMED PITCHING COACH;
JOEL CHIMELIS NAMED HITTING COACH
LAS VEGAS: The Las Vegas 51s PROFESSIONAL baseball team of the
Pacific Coast League (PCL), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets, announced
today, in conjunction with the Mets Media Relations Department, that Tony DeFrancesco was named manager for
the Mets Triple-A affiliate for the 2018 season. DeFrancesco becomes the 24th
manager in the history of the Las Vegas franchise (1983 – 2017, 35 seasons).
The
51s coaching staff was also announced as Glenn Abbott was named pitching coach and Joel Chimelis was named hitting coach. The athletic trainer position is Grant Hufford and Josh Fields will return for his second season as the strength coach. In addition, Jeremy Accardo was named bullpen coach and Kiyoshi Tada was named assistant athletic trainer. The right-handed pitcher Accardo was a member
of the Las Vegas 51s for two seasons (2009-10, Toronto Blue Jays
affiliate) and is the franchise leader with 37 saves. In 2017, he served as pitching coach for
Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Mets.
DeFrancesco,
54, has compiled 33 seasons overall in professional baseball, including 23
seasons as manager (over .500 seasons in 19 of 23 years). He has also been
manager in the PCL for 14 seasons from 2003-07, 2009-17. He was a member of the
Houston Astros organization for the past seven seasons (2011-17) and was the
manager for Triple-A Oklahoma City for four seasons (2011-14) and Triple-A
Fresno for three seasons (2015-17). He
was the manager of the PCL squad at the 2017 Triple-A All-Star Game.
DeFrancesco
has compiled an overall managerial record over 23 seasons of 1,625-1,414 (.535)
and an impressive PCL managerial record over 14 seasons of 1,103-890 (.553)
which includes four PCL championships (2003, 2004, 2007, 2015), two Triple-A
National Championships (2007, 2015) and eight division titles. He was named the
2003 PCL Manager of the Year and the 2015 Minor League Manager of the Year by Baseball America. The four PCL titles is
tied with Hall of Famer Del Crandall for
the most championships in league history. Crandall’s championships with Albuquerque
were in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982.
He
first joined the Oakland A’s organization as a minor league manager prior to
the 1994 season, following a nine-season professional playing career as a
catcher in the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds organizations (reached
Triple-A with both organizations). In 2003, he managed in his first season at
Triple-A Sacramento (Oakland A’s) and guided the River Cats to the PCL
championship. In 2008, he earned his first full-time Major League coaching job,
as third base coach for the A’s, before returning to Sacramento to manage in
2009.
He
then moved to the Astros organization following the 2010 campaign to manage
Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2011. In 2012, he was elevated from Oklahoma City to
Houston and was named the Astros interim manager on August 19, replacing Brad Mills who was fired. He managed the final 41 games of the season
and on August 24, he earned his first Major League victory, defeating the New
York Mets, 3-1, at Citi Field. He compiled an overall record of 16-25 (.390)
and with the Astros switching to the American League for 2013, DeFrancesco was
the final manager to lead the Astros as a National League franchise.
“I’m
excited to be a part of the Mets organization and to also work with the 51s
organization,” 51s Manager Tony
DeFrancesco said. “I have been
coming to Las Vegas for 14 years as the opposing manager and I enjoy working
with everyone in the Las Vegas front office. I have developed a great
relationship over the years with Don (Logan) and his staff.
“The
PCL continues to be a very competitive league, with a high caliber of future
major league stars, and our goal is to get to the playoffs and win the
championship. I’m excited about our coaching staff and I have worked with Glenn
Abbott in the Oakland organization and I know Joel Chimelis from the Astros
organization.”
The Suffern, New York native attended Suffern
High School and then played two seasons for Seton Hall University (1982 &
1984). DeFrancesco began his
professional career when selected by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round of
the June 1984 First-Year Player Draft.
1 comment:
Would have preferred Reese Kaplan as manager, Bill Metsiac as pitching coach, as they always see eye to eye...just a thought LOL.
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