Darin Everson, Robert Bell, Charlie Corbell part of NEW Hoppers staff

Grasshoppers Announce New Coaching Staff for 2009
*****from Laura Damico gsohoppers.com*****

(Greensboro, NC) The Florida Marlins announced Wednesday that Darin Everson will lead the 2009 Greensboro Grasshoppers on the field. The announcement was made by Marlins Vice President of Player Development and Scouting and Assistant General Manager Jim Fleming.

Everson will be joined by hitting coach Robert Bell and pitching coach Charlie Corbell. Athletic trainer, Julio Hernandez returns to the Grasshoppers for his second year.

Everson joins the Grasshoppers for his first season after two seasons as the field manager with the Jamestown Jammers. While in the New York-Penn League he compiled a 47-29 record in 2008 and a 28-47 mark in 2007. His professional coaching debut came in 2006 as the hitting coach for the Jupiter Hammerheads. As a player, he signed with the Montreal Expos in 1994 as a non-drafted free agent. During seven seasons, Everson split time between the Northern League and Frontier League and in the minors with the Montreal, Boston and Pittsburgh organizations.

Robert Bell will fill the role as hitting coach for the Grasshoppers 2009 campaign. He comes from the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League after serving as the hitting instructor in 2008. A native of Lafayette, Ind., Bell also served as hitting coach for the Schaumburg Flyers in 2006 and the Joliet Jackhammers in 2004 and 2005.

Bell attended Pima Community College in Tucson and then signed a free agent contract with the California Angels. A catcher, Bell spent six years in the Angels’ minor league system, including service with California’s AAA team in Edmonton, before retiring in 1991.

Charlie Corbell enters his ninth season as a minor league pitching coach. Corbell and Everson make the move to the Triad together, as Corbell also spent the last two seasons with the Jamestown Jammers. Prior to joining the Florida Marlins organization in 2007, Corbell enjoyed five years as pitching instructor within the Nationals minor league system. In 1983, Corbell was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 21st round out of the University of Arkansas. His seven year minor league playing career saw him rise as high as AAA-Phoenix before he was traded to Oakland for All-Star reliever Rod Beck.

Hernandez returns to the Grasshoppers for a second year after serving as the athletic trainer for the Marlins’ Gulf Coast League team during the 2007 season. A graduate of the University of South Florida, Hernandez was named the 2004-05 College Medicine Athletic Training Student of the Year.

The Grasshoppers have welcomed over 1,715,000 fans to NewBridge Bank Park, drawing over 400,000 fans in each of its first four years at the new downtown ballpark. The team is the proud recipient of Baseball America’s 2008 Bob Freitas Award and both the South Atlantic League’s Club Merit Award and the General Manager of the Year Award for the past four years.

Season tickets and advertising packages are now on sale for the 2009 season. For more information, please contact the Grasshoppers office at 336.268.BALL or visit www.gsohoppers.com.