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Carter and Deduno
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| 2009 Texas League Player and Pitcher of the Year, Chris Carter and Samuel Deduno |
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 November 14, 2007 - 11/13/07 - Texas League (TL) Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Brian Poldberg, a 19-year veteran of the Royals farm system, will serve as the first field manager for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. The announcement was made at a press conference Tuesday at the Holiday Inn in Springdale that included Naturals personnel along with Poldberg.
Poldberg, a 50-year old Omaha, NE resident, served as the third base coach under former Royals' skipper Buddy Bell in the 2007 season, capping four consecutive seasons on the Royals' Major League staff that saw him coach first base during the 2006 season and serve as the Royals' bullpen coach during the 2004-05 seasons. Poldberg served the previous seven seasons (1997-2003) as a minor league catching instructor and has developed a reputation for his excellent work with young catchers. Poldberg began his coaching career with Class-A Appleton in 1987 and managed the club in the 1988 and 1989 seasons. He also logged managerial experience in the Royals' farm system with Baseball City (Class-A Advanced) in 1990, Memphis (AA) in 1992, Eugene (Short-Season A) in 1994, Springfield (Class-A) in 1995, and Lansing (Class-A) in 1996. He also took over as manager in Wilmington (Class-A Advanced) in 1998 and guided them to a Carolina League championship. His career managerial record stands at 451-502 (.473). Poldberg began his baseball career in 1980 as a catcher playing in the New York Yankees farm system. He went on to play six years in the minor leagues, reaching Triple-A with the Omaha Royals in 1985. He is a graduate of Emporia (Kan.) State University and owns a bachelor's degree in business administration.
Larry Carter will serve as the Naturals pitching coach in 2008. He will be entering his seventh season as the pitching coach for the Royals' Double-A team after spending the past six seasons with the Wichita Wranglers. Carter, 42, will spend his 11th season in the Royals organization. He served as the pitching coach at Wilmington (A) in 2000 and 2001, Charleston (Class-A) in 1999 and Lansing (Class-A) in 1998. Carter also served as a pitching coach in the independent Texas-Louisiana League from 1994-97 for the Tyler Wildcatters. He was originally selected in the 10th round of the 1986 June Free Agent Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He played in the Cardinals system for 2 years before joining the San Francisco Giants organization and was named to the Texas League All-Star team in 1991. He appeared in six games at the Major League level with the 1992 Giants and was 1-5 with a 4.64 ERA. Larry resides in Corinth, Tex., with his wife, Jennifer, and their son, Matthew.
Tommy Gregg has been named the hitting coach for the Naturals after spending the 2007 season with the Wichita Wranglers. This will be Gregg's second season in the Royals organization after coming over from the St. Louis Cardinals, where he served five seasons as the hitting coach for the Memphis Redbirds, the Cardinals' Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate. Prior to his time with the Cardinals, Gregg spent three seasons in the Atlanta Braves organization as a coach for the Macon Braves (Class-A) and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Class-A Advanced). The 44-year old Gregg played nine seasons in the Majors with Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Florida, playing on the Braves back-to-back N.L. Championship teams in 1991 and 1992. Playing both at first base and in the outfield, Gregg hit .243 in 446 career games with 20 home runs and 88 RBI. He was the Pirates' seventh-round pick out of Wake Forest University in the 1985 draft. At Wake Forest, he was an Atlantic Coast Conference All-Star in 1982, 1983, and 1985. Gregg resides in Sharpsburg, Ga., with his wife, Tonya, and their two daughters, Jerdan and Rachel.
"The field is impressive and really coming along nicely," Poldberg told the audience today. "We're going to do everything we can to make it fun for all the people of Northwest Arkansas. I can't wait to get started." |
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