Greensboro Grasshoppers Named Staff of the Year by the Pirates Organization

The Pittsburgh Pirates today named the Greensboro Grasshoppers coaching staff as the organization’s Staff of the Year. The announcement was made by Director of Coaching and Player Development Michael Chernow.

Greensboro’s staff included South Atlantic League Manager of the Year Blake Butler, Pitching Coach Matt Myers, Hitting Coaches Jon Prieto and Jonathan Roof, Bench Coach Phillip Wellman, Development Coach Steph Lombardo, Athletic Trainer Coleman Duke, Strength and Conditioning Coach Nick Ritchie, Baseball Operations Assistant MaryAlice Baldwin, Nutritionist Kelliann Harnden and Clubhouse Manager Alonzo Whiteside.

Greensboro’s 88 wins were tied with Double-A Springfield (St. Louis) for fourth in all of Minor League Baseball, behind only High-A West Michigan (Detroit) with 92 wins, Double-A Binghamton (New York-NL) with 90 wins and Triple-A Jacksonville (Miami) with 89 wins. The 88 wins were also the most by any Greensboro team since the Greensboro Hornets (96) in 1982.

The Grasshoppers’ 165 home runs paced the South Atlantic League and were the second-most among all High-A teams, trailing only Everett (Seattle) of the Northwest League, which had 166 home runs.

Greensboro’s 3.55 staff ERA ranked fourth in the South Atlantic League, trailing only Hudson Valley (New York-AL) with a 2.82 ERA, Brooklyn (New York-NL) with a 3.30 ERA and Hub City (Texas) with a 3.50 ERA. The Grasshoppers’ 1.22 WHIP was the third-best among South Atlantic League teams.

The Grasshoppers clinched the second-half postseason spot from the South Atlantic League’s North Division, marking their second straight postseason berth and their third berth in the last five seasons. They matched up with Brooklyn in a best-of-three division series, where they were defeated in two games.