CUBS ANNOUNCE 2010 MINOR LEAGUE COORDINATORS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2009

CHICAGO - The Chicago Cubs today announced the club's minor league coordinators for the 2010 season.

Dave Bialas returns as the minor league field coordinator for the eighth-consecutive season and his 16th year in the Cubs organization. A 38-year veteran of professional baseball, he has 13 seasons of minor league managerial experience, compiling a 912-881 record and leading his teams to six league championship series. As a player, Bialas spent his minor league career as an outfielder in the Cardinals system, compiling a .274 batting average in 1,019 games from 1972-1982.

Mark Riggins begins his third season as pitching coordinator after handling the same duty with St. Louis for the previous 12 seasons. In 1995, he served as the Cardinals pitching coach under Joe Torre and Mike Jorgensen. Riggins pitched five seasons in St. Louis' farm system after he was signed out of Murray State University in 1979.

Bob Dernier returns for his fourth season as the Cubs outfield and baserunning coordinator. Dernier roamed the outfield for the Cubs from 1984-1987 and compiled a .255 career batting average in 904 major league contests with the Phillies (1980-1983, 1988-1989) and Chicago. He stole 218 bases in the majors, and was caught just 63 times.

Franklin Font begins his second season as infield coordinator after coaching or managing in the Cubs organization since 2002. Font, who played in the Cubs minor league system from 1996-2000, steered the Mesa Cubs to a 31-24 record in 2008. He also managed the Cubs Venezuelan (Rookie) Summer League club (2002) and Cubs Dominican (Rookie) Summer club (2005-2006). The former infielder was a member of Mesa's coaching staff in 2003 and 2004 and Boise's hitting coach in 2007.

Dave Keller continues his duties as hitting coordinator for the seventh-straight year. Prior to this stint with Chicago, he was a major league staff assistant and bullpen catcher for the Cleveland Indians from 2001-2003. Keller played professionally in the Cincinnati Reds organization for three seasons (1982-1984), batting .289 with 22 homers and 108 RBI.

Carmelo Martinez enters his 13th season in the Cubs organization, and his third as Latin American field coordinator. The former major league outfielder and first baseman spent 10 seasons at Rookie League Mesa, handling managerial duties in 1999-2003 and 2006. His 2002 Mesa club won the Arizona League title with a 35-21 record.

Marty Pevey begins his first season as catching coordinator after managing the Single-A Peoria Chiefs last season, his first year with the Cubs organization. Pevey brings 13 years of playing experience and 10 seasons as a manager to the position. The former catcher managed the Rookie-League Medicine Hat Blue Jays (1996-1997), the Single-A Hagerstown Suns (1998), the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays (2000-2002), the Double-A New Haven Ravens (2003) and the Syracuse Sky Chiefs (2004-2005).

blog comments powered by Disqus