M-Braves Announce 2016 Field Staff
New manager Luis Salazar to lead Double-A Braves in 2016
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PEARL, MS -- In conjunction with the Atlanta Braves, the Mississippi Braves announced its 2016 field staff earlier today. Manager Luis Salazar joins the Double-A Braves after leading the Braves High-A affiliate for the past five seasons. Pitching coach Dennis Lewallyn and hitting coach Garey Ingram both return to the M-Braves while Kyle Damschroder enters his first season as Mississippi's trainer.
Salazar joined the Braves organization in 2011 and has managed the High-A club during the past five seasons at Lynchburg (2011-14) and Carolina (2015). 2016 will be Salazar's 13th season as a minor league manager. He has a career managerial record of 638-691. A native of Venezuela, Salazar followed seven minor league playing seasons with 13 years in the big leagues including stints with the San Diego Padres (1980-84, 87, 89), Chicago White Sox (1985-86), Detroit Tigers (1988) and Chicago Cubs (1989-92). He hit .261 with 94 home runs and 455 RBI over the course of his career.
Lewallyn returns for his fourth season overseeing the M-Braves pitching staff in 2016. The 2015 club had the second best ERA in the Southern League at 3.55 for the second consecutive season. The 2014 pitching staff had a 3.37 ERA. The 2016 season is Lewallyn's eighth season in the Southern League. He previously served in the same capacity with the Tennessee Smokies (2007-10). Lewallyn spent time in the big leagues with Dodgers (1975-79), Rangers (1980) and Indians (1981-82). He resides in Pensacola, FL.
Ingram returns for his sixth season with the Double-A Braves in 2016. He served as the M-Braves hitting coach for four seasons (2010-13) before moving to Triple-A Gwinnett in the same roll in 2014. Ingram returned as the M-Braves hitting coach in 2015. Prior to joining the Braves organization, Ingram spent seven seasons (2002-08) as a minor league hitting coach in the Dodgers system. He retired from a 14-year professional playing career in 2002. Ingram resides in Columbus, GA.
Damschroder enters his first season with the M-Braves and his sixth season in the Braves organization. He spent the past three years at Low-A Rome (2013-15) and served two seasons as the trainer at Rookie-Danville (2011-12).
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| The Mississippi Braves baseball team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Since the inaugural 2005 season, over 100 M-Braves have gone on to play in the big leagues. The M-Braves have made postseason play three times and went on to win the Southern League Championship in 2008. Season tickets and mini plans for the 2016 season are on sale now. Trustmark Park will also host the 2016 Southern League All-Star Game Tuesday, June 21. Stop by Trustmark Park or call 888-BRAVES4 Monday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. For the latest news and updates, visit mississippibraves.com, facebook.com/mbraves and twitter.com/mbraves. |