Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Doug Dascenzo’

The San Diego Padres on Tuesday announced Jose Flores will manage the 2010 Fort Wayne TinCaps. Pitching coach Bronswell Patrick comes to Fort Wayne from Short-A Eugene while Tom Tornincasa returns for his seventh season as hitting coach and athletic trainer Nate Stewart is back after a brief stopover in 2009.

“This entire field staff comes with high praise from the Padres,” TinCaps president Mike Nutter said. “We know Tom has done a great job every year he’s been here, Nate was excellent when he helped us out last year and I’ve heard nothing but good things about Jose and Bronswell. We expect these guys to come in and help the players fulfill their potential.”

Flores, 36, managed the Padres’ Arizona Rookie League club the last two seasons, finishing with a combined record of 61-51. Prior to making his managerial debut, he served as the hitting coach for the Short-A Eugene Emeralds in 2007. Flores was a 34th-round pick in the 1994 draft out of the University of Texas and played professionally as an infielder in the minor leagues for parts of 13 seasons in seven organizations. He played 16 games in the major leagues with the Oakland Athletics (2002) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2004). Flores completed his playing career after the 2006 season. He has managed notable players including RHPs Mat Latos and Brad Brach, C Robert Lara and Arizona Rookie League MVPs Jaff Decker and Cody Decker.

Patrick, 39, will log his third season as a pitching coach in 2010, all with the Padres. He spent the 2008 season as Flores’ pitching coach in the Arizona Rookie League and moved to Short-A Eugene in 2009. Both seasons, Patrick’s pitching staffs issued the fewest walks in the league. He was drafted by Oakland in the 23rd round in 1988 out of Conley High School in Winterville, N.C. Patrick pitched 12 seasons in the minor leagues, including parts of two seasons with the Midwest League’s Madison Muskies. He made it to the major leagues in 1998 with the Brewers and 1999 with the
Giants. Patrick played parts of four seasons in the Mexican League and one in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. In 2003, he went 13-2 to lead the Mexico City Red Devils to their 14th league title. Patrick finished his playing career in 2005.

Tornincasa, 54, returns for his seventh season as Fort Wayne’s hitting coach. His first stint came from 2001-04 and he returned in 2008. This is Tornincasa’s 11th season coaching in the Padres’ organization. He has coached as high as the Double-A level, helping San Antonio to a Texas League title in 2007. Last year under Tornincasa’s tutelage, Fort Wayne’s hitters led the Midwest League by drawing 681 walks (4.9 per game) and scoring 736 runs (5.3 per game). Tornincasa joined the Padres’ organization in 2000 as a coach with the Arizona Rookie League Padres. After spending 2001-04 with Fort Wayne, he made his way to Advanced-A Lake Elsinore for 2005-06. Two of his teams have won championships: the 2007 San Antonio Missions and the 2009 Fort Wayne TinCaps.

Tornincasa played shortstop in college at Stanislaus (CA) State, appearing in the 1978 Division III World Series. He played professionally for two seasons in Mexico and coached at the collegiate level for Cal Baptist in Riverside, CA.

Stewart has served as a trainer in the Padres’ organization for the last four seasons, all with Short-A Eugene. He filled in with Fort Wayne for approximately a month during the 2009 season after Ernesto Vega, Jr. accepted a job outside of baseball. Stewart earned his degree in Kinesiology from Arizona State University in 2002. He spent a year as a high-school health teacher and athletic trainer in Arizona before joining the Padres’ organization.

Doug Dascenzo, the TinCaps’ 2009 manager and the franchise’s winningest manager, moves to Double-A San Antonio. Tom Bradley, the TinCaps’ pitching coach in 2009, moves to Short-A Eugene.

TinCaps 2010 Staff in Short:

Manager Jose Flores
Born: June 28, 1973, in New York, N.Y.
College: University of Texas
Seasons Coaching: 3 (2010 will be his fourth, his third as manager, all with Padres)
2009 Assignment: Manager, Peoria Padres, Arizona Rookie League
Managerial Record:
Year Team Organization Record
2008 AZL Padres (Rookie-level) Padres 33-23
2009 AZL Padres (Rookie-level) Padres 28-28_
Total 2 Seasons 61-51
Playing Background: 34th-round pick by the Phillies in the 1994 draft; 13 pro seasons in seven
organizations (.278-34-442). Played 16 games in the major leagues with the Oakland Athletics
(2002) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2004).
Trivia: Tied for the Texas Longhorns’ team lead in 1994 with 21 stolen bases.

Pitching Coach Bronswell Patrick
Born: September 16, 1970, in Greenville, N.C.
Seasons Coaching: 2 (2010 will be his third, all as pitching coach, all with Padres)
2009 Assignment: Pitching Coach, Eugene Emeralds, Short-A Northwest League
Playing Background: 23rd-round pick in the 1988 draft; 12 pro seasons in five American
organizations. Pitched 38 games in the major leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers (1998) and San
Francisco Giants (1999), combining for a 5-1 record, 5.04 ERA.
Trivia: Played in the Chinese Professional League in 2005 for a team called the Brother Elephants.

Hitting Coach Tom Tornincasa
Born: July 2, 1955
Seasons Coaching: 10 (2010 will be his 11th, all as hitting coach, all with Padres)
2009 Assignment: Hitting Coach, Fort Wayne TinCaps, Class-A Midwest League
Playing Background: Played shortstop at Stanislaus (Calif.) State University, leading the club to
the 1978 NCAA Division-III College World Series. Played two seasons professionally in Mexico.
Trivia: Under Tornincasa’s tutelage, Fort Wayne hitters have led the Midwest League in walks the
last two seasons.

In a season where the record books have been pretty much re-written, TinCaps skipper, Doug Dascenzo claimed one of his own thanks in no small part to the teams he’s led on the field while in Fort Wayne. Last night’s 8-6 victory over the Lansing Lugnuts was Dascenzo’s 210th victory while managing in Fort Wayne.

The win puts him at the top of the list, passing the Padres current hitting coach Randy Ready for the franchise record. The TinCaps put their record at 84-40 on the season and 39-15 in the second half.

Congratz Doug!

The Fort Wayne TinCaps dream season at Parkview Field continued Saturday as the team won its 80th game of the year, breaking the franchise record with 21 regular-season games left to play. The previous record of 79 was set in 1998 when the club was an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

The TinCaps set a franchise record for wins in a half-season earlier this year, when they went 45-25 in the first half. They have continued a sensational pace in the second half despite promotions of several key players.

“The depth of this team has been unbelievable all year,” TinCaps president Mike Nutter said. “They play with a lot of hustle and every player has worked incredibly hard to improve themselves. That’s a testament to the coaching staff and the San Diego Padres’ organization. We’re proud of the season these guys have had so far and we’re looking forward to even more memories in the playoffs.”

Several more records are expected to go by the wayside in the coming days. With Saturday’s victory, manager Doug Dascenzo is four shy of setting the franchise record for wins by a manager. Randy Ready, now the San Diego Padres’ hitting coach, won 209 games during his three-year stint, 2004-06.

The TinCaps are also closing in on the franchise attendance record. With Saturday night’s sellout crowd of 8,375, the TinCaps’ season attendance at Parkview Field reached 315,970. That is just short of the record total of 318,506, set with the franchise’s inaugural season of 1993.

Saturday night’s crowd was the second-largest in Parkview Field history. The TinCaps have sold out six of their last 11 home games.

Parkview Field will also play host at least one Midwest League playoff game on September 10th at 7:05pm against an undetermined opponent. The TinCaps qualified for the post-season with a firsthalf Eastern Division championship.

The TinCaps Press Conference

[Show as slideshow]

The TinCaps Uniforms

[Show as slideshow]

Git Yer TinCaps Gear Here!

[Show as slideshow]

The Fort Wayne TipCaps will unveil their new uniforms and 2009 coaching staff in addition to the Parkview Field logo today at Glenbrook Square’s Macy’s Court. Fort Wayne Journal Gazette is reporting that Doug Dascenzo is likely to return as the skipper.

Full updates to follow later this evening.

Late in June, the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball announced they had sold the contract of infielder, Anthony Contreras to the San Diego Padres, who assigned him to the Fort Wayne Wizards.

With Lincoln, he hit .312 in 44 games for Lincoln, with 21 RBI and 21 runs scored at the time of the transaction.

It’s been a little over a month since then. Over that time, Contreras has appeared in 19 games for the Wizards and turned in a respectable .303 average to go with his  20 hits and a stolen base.

He’s struck out 13 times and drawn only 6 walks and 6 runs batted in over 66 at-bats, but he’s produced in other areas on the field.

“He swung the bat real well, but it’s particularly nice you can play him anywhere on the field,” Wizards manager Doug Dascenzo said. “He looks good at short, at second. Swinging the bat is a bonus” [source: LaMond Pope]

But his versatility means more than just someone to put at the position. His defense at short recently received high praise from Dascenzo. During a game at the Castle on July 27th, Contreras ranged into short left field to snag a ground ball that was hit by Peoria catcher Mario Mercedes. Contreras got it and then jumped in the air while turning to fire the ball to first. It was there a couple steps before Mercedes.

“Those are the kind of plays you see at the Major League level,” Wizards manager Doug Dascenzo said. “That was something else. He put the throw right on the money” [source:  Journal Gazette] .

It capped a big night for Contreras. Not only did he make a game saving play, he collected two hits and scored the winning run for a 3-2 Wizards’ victory.

He was originally selected in the ninth round of the 2005 draft (number 288 overall) by the San Francisco Giants out of San Jose State. He spent three seasons in their farm system; hitting .259 with 40 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 117 runs batted in over 271 games – at at the A or High A level. In 2006, Contreras put together his best professional season en route to being selected as a South Atlantic League All-Star. The Giants released him this spring before he caught on with Lincoln.

Photo by Chad Gramling.

The San Diego Padres recently acquired right-handed pitcher Evan Scribner from the Arizona Diamondbacks for infielder Tony Clark. Scribner will be assigned to Single-A Lake Elsinore, but as Paul Depodesta reports, it was a call from Wizards’ skipper, Doug Dascenzo that may have gotten the wheels turning on this deal:

In addition to the reports we receive from our scouts, both amateur and pro, we also ask our player development staffs to weigh in on players in their leagues. Generally we don’t ask for too much volume or detail. After all, our staffs are busy enough managing their own teams. However, we do ask that they leave a voicemail with some specifics if there is an opposing player they particularly like. That way we can make sure our scouts follow up with a more formal report as the season continues. In this case, Doug Dascenzo, our manager in Ft. Wayne, phoned in a report on Evan earlier this season which initiated our interest.

See Also: Padres Press Release | Clark for Scribner at Friar Forecast

Here’s an interesting string of events that relates to father-and-son stories as it relates to the Fort Wayne Wizards

As previously reported, Zach Dascenzo, the son of current Wizards skipper, Doug Dascenzo, was drafted by the San Diego Padres; effectively making it possible  tha tthe duo would unite in Fort Wayne as player and coach. I doubt he will sign, but you never know.

On Thursday (6/18), former Wizard, Michael Cuddyder hit a two-run triple and reached base all four times he batted to help the Minnesota Twins complete a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals. Then he missed the Twin’s game the next day to be present for the birth of his child. He and his wife, Claudia, welcomed a son, Casey, to the world.

Earlier in the week, another former Wizard consulted with his 13-year-old son for advice on breaking out of his slump. The Angels’ Torii Hunter was visibly discouraged when Torii Jr. asked what was wrong. The elder Hunter said he was not hitting the ball the way he should.

He looked at me and said, ‘Keep your head still, and you’ll hit.’ I thought about it, and he was right. He’s 13, and that’s what I always tell him: ‘Keep your head still.’ I worked on it [Tuesday], concentrating on keeping my head still and not jumping at the ball. I’m trying to be more quiet up there. I think it paid off [source: mlb.com].

In his first at-bat against his former Twins teammate, Johan Santana, Hunter kept his head still on a waist-high changeup and crushed it into the left-field corner for a two-out, two-run first-inning double. Hunter also hit a double and a walk to lead the Halos to a 6-1 win.

George Von Benko’s “Memory Lane” columns appear in today’s Herald-Standard has a great article about current Fort Wayne Wizards Manager, Doug Dascenzo. Von Benko recalls the young infielder’s Cleveland, Ohio upbringing, his rise through college and an unexpected selection in the draft by the Chicago Cubs.

Dascenzo was raised in Brownsville. He graduated from Brownsville in 1982 and continued baseball at Florida College.

“It was a little Christian two-year school. I spent one year there and then ended up going to Oklahoma State my sophomore and junior years.”

As part of the Oklahoma State baseball team Dascenzo played on College World Series in 1984 and 1985.

“We could start naming all the players that came out of Oklahoma State, but you might run out of tape,” Dascenzo joked. “Guys like Pete Incaviglia, John Farrell and Mike Henneman the list goes on and on. It was a great program and still is a pretty good program. “

He was drafted in the round 12 of the 1985 draft by the Chicago Cubs. He hadn’t expected it. At the time, he had planned to marry and return to college in the fall. Instead, he entered the world of Minor League Baseball.

Dascenzo rose through the Cubs’ minor league system and made his Major League debut on Sept. 2, 1988, against the Cincinnati Reds. In that game, he went 3-for-5. He stayed with the club through 1992 and played in a then-National League record 241 consecutive errorless games.

Dascenzo played parts of seven Major League seasons with Chicago (1988-1992), the Texas Rangers (1993) and the San Diego Padres (1996). He has a career .234 average with 42 doubles, 10 triples, five dingers, 90 runs batted in, 156 runs scored and 49 stolen bases.

In 1998, Dascenzo became a hitting coach in the Padres organization. 2008 begins his second campaign as manager of the Fort Wayne Wizards.