Grasshoppers Announce 2017 Coaching Staff
(Greensboro, NC) The Miami Marlins announced Todd Pratt will be the new manager for the 2017 Greensboro Grasshoppers. Pratt will be joined by pitching coach Mark DiFelice, hitting coach Frank Moore and coach Danny Black. Michael Bibbo will be returning for his second season as Athletic Trainer. Trevor Ging will return as the strength and conditioning coach.
*****Todd Pratt was a catcher for the Greensboro Hornets during the 1986 season where he batted .241, with 12 HR’s and 56 RBI, in 107 games…Was a member of the Boston Red Sox organization at that time. Was teammates with Alan Ashkinazy from the Greensboro Batting Center.*****
Todd Pratt enters his first season as Manager of the Grasshoppers, following five years as the head coach of the West Georgia Tech baseball team. He was also named the school’s athletic director on November 2, 2015. Pratt was hired in 2011 as the school’s first baseball coach and built the program from a club-level team that first year to its current NJCAA Division-I status.
Prior to his time at West Georgia Tech, he enjoyed a professional baseball career that spanned more than two decades. Pratt played in the 1993 and 2000 World Series and was a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves. He was selected by Boston in the sixth round of the 1985 First-Year Player Draft, and made his MLB debut on July 29, 1992 with Philadelphia.
Mark DiFelice joins the Grasshoppers as pitching coach, following three seasons with the Pirates organization. He most recently served as pitching coach for the West Virginia Black Bears. He spent the 2015 season with the West Virginia Power and the 2014 season with Jamestown. DiFelice was selected by Colorado in the 15th round of the 1998 First-Year Player Draft, and was named an All-Star with Portland in 1998. He would go on to be named a Carolina League All-Star with Salem in 1999, a Southern League All-Star with Carolina in 2001 and a Pacific Coast League All-Star with Nashville in 2011. Made MLB debut on May 18, 2008 with Milwaukee vs. Boston and struck out Manny Ramirez for first career strikeout. Appeared in 77 MLB games during the 2009 and 2011 seasons; he missed 2010 with a right shoulder injury.
Frank Moore returns to the Grasshoppers as hitting coach, a position he held from 2012-15. He spent last year as hitting coach for Jupiter, a position he also held in 2011, following a one-year stint as the Marlins Outfield and Baserunning coordinator in 2015. He has spent nine years with the Marlins organization, also serving as hitting coach for Jamestown in 2009-10. Before being named Jamestown’s hitting coach, he played with the Albuquerque Isotopes in 2007. Moore was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 1998 out of Middle Georgia Junior College. He saw time with Marlins’ affiliates in Jupiter, Carolina and Albuquerque from 2005-07. He resides in Douglas, Ga.
Danny Black joins the Grasshoppers as coach, following his first season as a player/coach in Jupiter. Black began his professional baseball career in 2010 when he signed with the Miami Marlins. Danny was an integral part of the exciting Greensboro Grasshoppers 2011 South Atlantic League Championship team.
The Greensboro Grasshoppers Opening Day is set for Thursday, April 6th. Season Tickets, mini ticket plans and advertising packages are now on sale for the 2017 season. For more information, please contact the Grasshoppers office at 336.268.2255 or visit www.gsohoppers.com.