On February fifth the Louisville Bats officially announced their new manager, Jim Riggleman.
Riggleman comes to the team after an impressive career in baseball, beginning as a minor league utility player for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ and St. Louis Cardinals Farm Team system.
Upon retiring from playing the New Jersey native went on to stay in the farm league system, managing several teams around the country, prior to making his way to the majors; coaching the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, and Washington Nationals.
After leaving Washington in 2011, Riggleman worked as a scout for the San Francisco Giants, prior to being named the new Bats manager.
Riggleman takes the job over from David Bell, who signed a contract to work as the Third Base Coach for the Chicago Cubs in October of last year, making Bell’s time with the team just shy of a year.
In a press conference Riggleman summed up his philosophy in regards to the Bats in that the Bats must work first and foremost as a training ground for future possible pro prospects; the approach is one that is certainly not Bats centric but rather Franchise minded.
Admittedly, this caused some to wonder; and some furrowed brows were inevitable, however Riggleman made it clear that his goals with the Bats were to produce a solid team that would feed into the Reds well; first and foremost.
Riggleman is actually moving up through the Reds organization himself it would seem, as previous to the Bats he managed the Red’s Double-A farm team, the Pensacola Blues; and the new manager is bringing along with him from Pensacola, hitting coach Tony Jaramillo.
Meanwhile, the Bats’ announced that veteran pitching coach, Ted Power will make this season his eighth year with Louisville.
The Bats begin their season in early April and one can only wait and see what happens with the new coaching.
Photo by P. Pfister and courtesy of the Louisville Bats
