VALLEYCATS ANNOUNCE 2024 COACHING STAFF
The Tri-City ValleyCats announced their 2024 coaching staff on Thursday. Hitting/Third Base Coach Ken Matsuzaka, Pitching Coach Tom Thornton, and Fundamentals Coach Tom McManus will be joining Field Manager Greg Tagert's coaching staff.
Matsuzaka has spent the last three seasons in a variety of coaching roles with the Ibaraki Astro Planets of the independent Baseball Challenge League in Japan; several of his players were drafted into the Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan's premier baseball league. He was the manager, bench coach, and field coordinator for the Astro Planets. Most recently he was the bench coach/field coordinator in 2023. Matsuzaka has been the CEO of PaLaCalle Béisbol since 2018. The Yamanashi Gakuin University graduate also coached in Australia, and was with the Redland Rays and Carina Red Sox.
Thornton will join Tagert on his coaching staff for the third time in his career. The University of Notre Dame product was the pitching coach for Tagert in the American Association of Professional Baseball last year with the Winnipeg Goldeyes, and with the Gary Southshore RailCats from 2020-21. Thornton and Tagert have known each other for quite some time; Thornton was a player for Tagert's RailCats from 2009-10 back when they were in the Northern League.
Thornton was originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 21st round of the 2006 MLB Draft. The connections run even deeper as his lone season of minor league ball, also in 2006, came with the Oneonta Tigers in the New York-Penn League. Thornton was a left-handed pitcher for several independent teams such as the Traverse City Beach Bums and Evansville Otters in the Frontier League, the Nashua Pride in the Can-Am League, and the Schaumburg Flyers in the Northern League. Overall, Thornton earned 14 wins and tossed 342.2 innings across five professional seasons.
McManus was a Milwaukee Brewers Arizona Complex League (ACL) development coach in 2023. The ACL Brewers won their league championship last season. Beforehand, the Eldersburg, Md. native was the defensive coordinator at D1 Norfolk State University in 2022, and worked with the infielders and catchers.
The Salisbury University graduate also had coaching stints in youth baseball with the Eastern Shore Force, the Triple Crown Training, and the Evoshield Canes. McManus was the Director of Baseball Operations at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and held the same title with the National Club Baseball Association in Pittsburgh. At UMBC, he helped implement Synergy Baseball, and created scouting and analytics reports; these skills will translate over into utilizing the Frontier League's Yakkertech system.
Season 22 of ValleyCats baseball and entertainment continues as ticket plans and group outings are available to purchase. Each ticket plan includes multiple fireworks dates to enjoy. Single game tickets go live at 10 AM on Thursday, March 28. You can be a part of the excitement by logging on to tcvalleycats.com or by calling 518-629-CATS (2287).
