Mets announce AAA coaching staff

 The following press release was issued yesterday by the press office of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies:

Syracuse Mets Announce 2024 Coaching Staff

Manager Dick Scott returns to lead Syracuse coaching staff in 2024

 

SYRACUSE, NY – The 2024 Syracuse Mets coaching staff has been announced and features a combination of familiar names with a few new names but most with multiple years of experience in the New York Mets’ organization. Manager Dick Scott, Hitting Coach Collin Hetzler, and Bench Coach/Assistant Hitting Coach J.P. Arencibia all return for their second season with the Syracuse Mets. 

Strength Coach Alex Tavarez enters his third season with Syracuse and 11th in the Mets’ organization. Pitching Coach Grayson Crawford enters his first season with Syracuse and in the New York Mets’ organization. 

The rest of the Syracuse staff includes Development/Infield Coach Adrian Texidor, Head Trainer Austin Dayton, Assistant Trainer Kylie Holton, Baseball Analytics Analyst Ryan Hecht, Player Development Associate Matthew Innella, and Nutrition Associate Ashley Steinberger.

Manager Dick Scott brings a wealth of coaching and player development experience as he begins his second year as Syracuse’s manager and his 11th total season in the New York Mets organization. Scott was New York’s coordinator of coaching development and instruction the last two seasons. 

Before that, Scott served as the Miami Marlins’ Director of Player Development from 2018-2020. The Ellsworth, Maine native was with the Mets previously as New York’s bench coach in 2016 and 2017, New York’s Director of Player Development from 2013-2015, and the club’s Minor League Field Coordinator in 2011 and 2012. Before joining the Mets, Scott was the Minor League Field Coordinator for the Houston Astros in 2010 and the Toronto Blue Jays’ Director of Player Development from 2001-2009. Syracuse was affiliated with Toronto for all of those years except 2009. 

Scott was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 17th round of the 1981 amateur draft and played ten seasons professionally: eight in the Yankees’ system and two with the Oakland Athletics’ organization. Scott appeared in three major league games with the Athletics in 1989. That same season, Oakland won the World Series. After his final season as a player, Scott began his coaching career in the Athletics’ organization, managing various levels from 1991-1996 before joining the Arizona Diamondbacks to manage Low-A South Bend in 1997. 

Scott was named the Arizona League Manager of the Year in 1991, Northwest League Manager of the Year in 1992, and the California League Manager of the Year in 1994. Scott was also named the 1994 Minor League Manager of the Year by USA Today Baseball Weekly. After his seven seasons of managing, Scott became the Advance Scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998-2001 before joining Toronto in November of 2001.

Hitting Coach Collin Hetzler begins his second season with Syracuse and his fourth season in the New York Mets’ organization. Hetzler spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as the Mets’ complex hitting coordinator at New York’s spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, FL. In 2022, Hetzler was named the Mets Minor League Staff Member of the Year. The Fort Worth, TX native played two seasons of college baseball at Galveston College before playing his final two collegiate seasons at Houston Baptist University in 2011 and 2012. 

Hetzler was an assistant coach for the baseball team at Houston Baptist in 2015, 2016, and 2017, and he earned an MBA from Houston Baptist University in 2017. Prior to joining the Mets, Hetzler worked as a hitting trainer and the operations manager at Driveline Baseball in Kent, WA. Driveline is a data-driven baseball development program. While Hetzler never played professionally, his stepfather, Brian Milner, was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization and played for the major league squad in 1978.

Pitching coach Grayson Crawford is joining Syracuse for his first season in Central New York and his first season in the New York Mets’ organization. Crawford spent the last two seasons as a pitching coach in the New York Yankees’ organization with the Single-A Tampa Tarpons in 2022 and the Double-A Somerset Patriots in 2023. Before his professional baseball coaching experience, 

Crawford was a Pitching Coach and/or Assistant Coach at multiple colleges, including Lipscomb University, Austin Peay State University, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Murray State University, Lindsey Wilson College, Pensacola State College, and Stillman College. Crawford played collegiate baseball at Southern Arkansas University for one year before transferring to Stillman College and playing three years as the team’s catcher where his father, Donny Crawford coached the team.

Bench Coach/Assistant Hitting Coach J.P. Arencibia is back for his second season with Syracuse and in the New York Mets’ organization. Arencibia played ten seasons professionally, including parts of six years in the majors with Toronto (2010-2013), Texas (2014), and Tampa Bay (2015). The Miami, FL native played three seasons of college baseball at the University of Tennessee before he was drafted in the first round of the 2007 MLB draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Prior to joining the Mets, Arencibia was an analyst on Miami Marlins broadcasts on Bally Sports Florida and on Marlins Radio.

Development Coach/Infield Coach Adrian Texidor comes to Syracuse for the first time this season and is in his third year with the New York Mets. Texidor was the Bench Coach for one of the Mets’ Dominican Summer League teams last season. In 2022, Texidor was a Baseball Systems Associate in Binghamton for the New York Mets. The Guayama, Puerto Rico native won the 2015 Big League World Series championship with the Latin American team before playing collegiate baseball for Kaskaskia College and Miami (OH).

Strength Coach Alex Tavarez is in his third season with the Syracuse Mets and his 11th year in the Mets’ organization. Previously, Tavarez was the Performance/Strength and Conditioning Coach for High-A St. Lucie in 2017 and 2018, for Low-A Columbia in 2016, and for the Gulf Coast League Mets in 2014 and 2015.

Head Trainer Austin Dayton begins his first season with the Syracuse Mets and his seventh in the Mets’ organization. Dayton was an Athletic Trainer for Double-A Binghamton last year, High-A Brooklyn in 2022, Low-A St. Lucie in 2021, Rookie Level Kingsport in 2020, Rookie Level Gulf Coast League Mets in 2019, and he was the Head Athletic Trainer at the Mets’ Dominican Republic Academy in 2018.

Assistant Trainer Kylie Holton also begins her first season with the Syracuse Mets and is in her third year with the New York Mets. Holton also has experience as an Athletic Trainer for the Episcopal School of Jacksonville and was a Student Athletic Trainer for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Holton played college softball for the College of Central Florida and for Morehead State University.

Baseball Analytics Associate Ryan Hecht is in his third year with the New York Mets. Hecht was a Minor League Analytics Analyst for the Mets last year and was a Minor League Analytics Associate in 2022. Hecht played college baseball at Colby College from 2018-2021 and was a Baseball Operations Intern for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019.

Player Development Associate Matthew Innella spent part of 2023 with Syracuse and returns for 2024.

Nutrition Associate Ashley Steinberger begins her first season with the Syracuse Mets and in the New York Mets’ organization. Steinberger was a Sports Dietitian in the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization in 2023.

Season tickets and Flex Plans for the 2024 Syracuse Mets baseball season are on sale now. Single game tickets will go on sale Saturday, March 2, 2023. Fans can purchase tickets at the Onondaga Coach Ticket Office at NBT Bank Stadium or over the phone at 315-474-7833 during regular office hours (Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or online anytime at SyracuseMets.com.

Opening Day for the Syracuse Mets is scheduled for Friday, March 29th at NBT Bank Stadium against the Rochester Red Wings. Please follow the Syracuse Mets on social media or check SyracuseMets.com for the most up-to-date information on 2024 Syracuse Mets tickets, promotions, schedule, and more.