While the 2020 Clinton LumberKings season is on hold, we delve into the franchise’s deep history, building a 25-man roster of the best players to wear "LumberKings” across their chest since the franchise was renamed in 1994.

In this three-part series, we examine how the 25 best Clinton LumberKings players in history etched their name in Clinton professional baseball lore.

Behind every great team, is a great coaching staff. Leading the All-Time LumberKings staff includes Manager Carlos Subero, Pitching Coach Doug Mathis, Hitting Coach Brian Dayett, Athletic Trainer Jeff Bodenhamer and Strength and Conditioning Coach Paul Howey.

Picking an All-Time manager was a difficult task. The LumberKings have had many managers deserving of leading a roster of the best players to wear a LumberKings' uniform. A combination of tenure and success was used to choose an All-Time manager.

Carlos Subero managed the Clinton LumberKings for three seasons from 2003 to 2005, winning 214 games and compiling a .518 winning percentage. Subero was one of just three managers who managed the LumberKings for three seasons or more since the name change in 1994 and is the winningest of the three. Subero led the LumberKings to the playoffs in all three seasons in charge.

“It’s an honor to be named the All-Time Manager for the LumberKings,” said Subero. “All three years we had great groups of kids that competed and developed, some of them made it-some of them didn’t but they were very good kids.”

Subero had two years of managing experience under his belt by the time he came to Clinton in 2003. The Caracas, Venezuelan native got his first taste of managing in the Gulf Coast League with the GCL Rangers, winning 52 games over the course of two seasons. Subero wasn't a stranger to the Midwest League as he played with the Rockford Royals in 1994.

As a 31-year-old, Subero managed the LumberKings to 69 wins in his first season, in 2003, a team that featured future big leaguers Kevin Richardson and Omar Beltre. The LumberKings did not clinch a playoff spot until August 30th when they defeated the Cedar Rapids Kernels 5-3, going on to win a first-round series over the Kane County Cougars before being eliminated by the Beloit Snappers in the West Division Championship Series.

“I always recall that in my 15 years of managing, the 2003 team being one of my favorites because it was a bunch of overachievers and we almost made it to the finals” said Subero. “I have nothing but great memories of Clinton.”

Subero and the LumberKings returned to the division finals in 2004 against the Kane County Cougars, getting swept two games to none. Subero managed a star-studded pitching staff in 2004, led by Edinson Volquez and Jesse Chavez. In his final season in 2005, Subero once again guided the LumberKings to the division finals before falling to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers two games to none. The LumberKings three straight trips to the West Division Championship Series under Subero marks the only time the LumberKings have made the division finals in three straight seasons since the name change in 1994.

Following a three-year stint in Clinton, Subero spent two more seasons in the Texas Rangers system, managing the Bakersfield Blaze from 2006 to 2007 before joining the White Sox organization for one season, managing the White Sox Double-A affiliate, the Birmingham Barons in 2008.

Subero carved his name in the Caribbean World Series record book in 2006, leading Leones del Caracas to the Caribbean World Series title, becoming the youngest manager in history to do so at the age of 33 and also becoming just the second Venezuelan manager to win the Caribbean World Series. Subero joined the Dodgers for five seasons from 2009 to 2013, spending three of those seasons managing the Chattanooga Lookouts from 2010 to 2012. After managing in the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system for two seasons from 2014 to 2015, Subero joined the big league staff in Milwaukee, serving as the Brewers' first-base coach from 2016 to 2019.

Mathis was the LumberKings pitching for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. He guided a pitching staff that finished near the top of the Midwest League in strikeouts in 2018, setting a franchise record with 1,263. Mathis oversaw the development of Robert Dugger, who went 4-1 with a 2.00 ERA over 22 appearances in 2017.

The 2017 season marked Mathis' first season as a coach after a lengthy playing career that saw the former reliever pitch three seasons with the Texas Rangers from 2008 to 2010. The Show Low, Arizona native made the jump from Clinton to Triple-A Buffalo in 2019 after joining the Toronto Blue Jays organization. On January 2, 2020, Mathis rejoined the organization that drafted him, being named the Bullpen Coach with the Texas Rangers. With the promotion to the big leagues, Mathis joins former LumberKings' pitching coaches Pete Woodworth and Andy Hawkins as former LumberKings' pitching coaches to join big league staffs after coaching in Clinton.

Dayett, the longest-tenured hitting coach in Clinton LumberKings history served from 2005 to 2008. Dayett was part of Carlos Subero's staff in 2005 and proceeded to work under managers Andy Fox in 2006 and Mike Miccuci from 2007 to 2008. Dayett's hitters finished second in the league in walks with 576 in 2005. In three seasons with the LumberKings, Dayett worked with nine future Major Leaguers, including John Mayberry Jr., Craig Gentry, Mitch Moreland, and Justin Smoak. Like Subero, Dayett was part of three playoff teams in 2005, 2007, and 2008.

Dayett, a New London, Connecticut native, came to Clinton following a stint as the Lexington Legends hitting coach in 2004 as a member of the Astros organization. Dayett's first season in Clinton was not his first season in the Midwest League, spending the 2002 season with the Michigan Battle Cats as their hitting coach. The former third baseman played parts of five seasons in the majors with the New York Yankees from 1983 to 1984 and Chicago Cubs from 1985 to 1987 before finishing his playing career in Japan, spending four seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters from 1988 to 1991.

Rounding out the All-Time coaching staff is Athletic Trainer Jeff Bodenhamer and Strength and Conditioning Coach Paul Howey. Bodenhamer, a Charlotte, North Carolina native, served as the Clinton LumberKings Athletic Trainer from 2005 to 2008 and is the longest-tenured athletic trainer in LumberKings history. Bodenhamer is currently an athletic trainer in the Milwaukee Brewers' system, spending the 2019 season with the Biloxi Shuckers. Paul Howey was with the LumberKings from 2015 to 2017 and was part of the franchise record-setting 2016 team which won 86 games. The Pine Bluff, Arkansas native has served as the Strength and Conditioning coach for the Atlanta Braves Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers since 2019.

Our next installment of the All-Time Clinton LumberKings will focus on the 12 best position players to play for the LumberKings since 1994.