White Sox announce 2013 player development staff
The Chicago White Sox have announced their player development staff for the 2013 season.
Britt Burns, who pitched for the White Sox from 1978-1985, returns to the organization as the pitching coach at Class AA Birmingham. Burns replaces Bobby Thigpen, who was named the Sox bullpen coach on November 27, 2012.
Burns, 53, was the pitching coach for Sugarland of the independent Atlantic League in 2012. He served as the minor league pitching coordinator for Houston from 2008-10. Prior to joining the Houston Astros, Burns was a pitching coach in the Miami (1993-2001) and Detroit (2002-07) organizations.
Burns appeared in 193 games (161 starts) during his eight-year career with Chicago, going 70-60 with a 3.66 ERA (445 ER/1,094.1 IP), 734 strikeouts and 39 complete games. He was an American League All-Star in 1981 and finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1980.
Doug Sisson also joins the White Sox organization, replacing Daryl Boston as the outfield/baserunning instructor. Boston was named first base coach on November 27, 2012. Sisson served as the first base coach for Kansas City from 2011-12 and was the minor-league field coordinator for the Royals from 2008-10.
Also rejoining the Sox organization is Vance Law as special assistant to player development. Law played 11 major-league seasons with Pittsburgh (1980-81), the White Sox (1982-84), Montreal (1985-87), the Cubs (1988-89) and Oakland (1991). He was a member of the White Sox 1983 American League Western Division championship team and was selected to the 1988 National League All-Star Team. Law served as the head baseball coach at Brigham Young University from 2000-12.
Among additional changes to the player development staff in 2013, Julio Vinas (Birmingham), Ryan Newman (Class A Winston-Salem), Tommy Thompson (Class A Kannapolis), Pete Rose Jr. (Advanced Rookie Great Falls) and Bobby Magallanes (Advanced Rookie Bristol) will have new managerial assignments.
Nick Capra enters his second season as the White Sox director of player development, and Kirk Champion will serve as the organization's field coordinator for the second consecutive season. Capra and Champion were promoted to their current positions on January 23, 2012.
Following are the full player development assignments for 2013:
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT INSTRUCTORS
Nick Capra - Director of Player Development
Kirk Champion - Field Coordinator
Curt Hasler - Pitching Coordinator
Tim Laker - Hitting Coordinator
Vance Law - Special Assistant to Player Development
Doug Sisson - Outfield/Baserunning Instructor
Ever Magallanes - Infield Instructor
John Orton - Catching Instructor
Dale Torborg - Conditioning Coordinator
Scott Takao - Minor League Medical/Rehab. Coordinator
Coaching Assistants - Robbie Cummings, Jerry Hairston, Chet DiEmidio
CLASS AAA CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS
Manager: Joel Skinner
Pitching Coach: Richard Dotson
Hitting Coach: Brandon Moore
Trainer: Joe Geck
Conditioning: Raymond Smith
CLASS AA BIRMINGHAM BARONS
Manager: Julio Vinas
Pitching Coach: Britt Burns
Hitting Coach: Gary Ward
Trainer: Scott Johnson
Conditioning: Shawn Powell
CLASS A WINSTON-SALEM DASH
Manager: Ryan Newman
Pitching Coach: J.R. Perdew
Hitting Coach: Robert Sasser
Trainer: Josh Fallin
Conditioning: Tim Rodmaker
CLASS A KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS
Manager: Tommy Thompson
Pitching Coach: Jose Bautista
Hitting Coach: Andy Tomberlin
Trainer: Cory Barton
Conditioning: Chad Efron
ADVANCED ROOKIE GREAT FALLS VOYAGERS
Manager: Pete Rose Jr.
Pitching Coach: Brian Drahman
Hitting Coach: Charlie Poe
Trainer: Kevin Pillifant
Conditioning: George Timke
ADVANCED ROOKIE BRISTOL SOX
Manager: Bobby Magallanes
Pitching Coach: Larry Owens
Hitting Coach: Greg Briley
Trainer: James Kruk
Conditioning: Ibrahim Rivera
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ACADEMY
Rafael Santana - Academy Coodinator
Julio Valdez - Field Coordinator
Guillermo Reyes - Manager
Efrain Valdez - Pitching Coach
Domingo Michel - Hitting Coach
Angel Gonzalez - Infield Coach
Nelson Abreu - Outfield Coach
Jose Del Villar - Trainer
Pedro Gomez - Conditioning Coach