Palm Beach Cardinals Announce 2024 Coaching Staff

Jupiter, Fla (January 10, 2024) – The Palm Beach Cardinals are excited to welcome back some familiar faces for the 2024 season, as Field Manager Gary Kendall will continue to be at the helm for the upcoming Florida State League season. This will be his third year with the club and within the Cardinals organization.

Before South Florida, Kendall spent 17 seasons within the Baltimore Orioles farm system, with managerial roles for the Norfolk Tides, Bowie Baysox, Aberdeen IronBirds, Delmarva Shorebirds, and Bluefield Orioles.

Last season, Kendall led the Cardinals to their second consecutive playoff appearance. The Beach Birds clinched the first-half championship with a 37-28 record in the FSL East division. Before Kendall, Palm Beach hadn’t made the postseason since 2018.

Alongside Kendall’s return, the Palm Beach coaching staff will remain largely intact for the 2024 campaign.

Giovanni Carrara will remain the club’s pitching coach for the upcoming campaign. The Venezuelan native played 10 MLB seasons after making his debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1995. This will be Carrara’s fourth season with the Cardinals organization and third with Palm Beach.

The 2024 hitting coach will be Willi Martin, who returns for his second season with Palm Beach. The Liberty University graduate worked with the Cardinals High-A affiliate Peoria Chiefs before moving to the Palm Beach County.

Rounding out the coaches will be another familiar face as Bernard Gilkey returns. The former left fielder played in the big leagues from 1990-2001, spending six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals before stints with the New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves. Outside of baseball, the St. Louis native also made a brief appearance in Men In Black as a spacecraft hovers over New York.

Jeff Case will return for his third season as the team’s Athletic Trainer. While new Strength and Conditioning Coach Harben Filho Braco joins the staff after working for the FCL Cardinals in the same role last season.

Palm Beach will be adding an Affiliate Fellow to the staff at a later date.

Kendall’s team will open the 2024 season on Friday, April 5 against their Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium roommates, the Jupiter Hammerheads. Florida State League tickets and ticket packages are available and can be found at RogerDeanChevroletStadium.com.