COMING THURSDAY: Von Hayes and Tom Herr discuss the Barnstormers’ intriguing new coaching arrangement.
The Barnstormers have unveiled two-thirds of their coaching staff for 2009. Von Hayes, as expected, will be back for a second season as manager. He has signed a two-year contract that runs through 2010.
The surprise news is the return of Tom Herr, who will replace Boots Day as the team’s bench coach. Herr produced a 139-127 record in two seasons as manager of the Barnstormers from 2005-06. He spent 2007 with the Single-A Hagerstown Suns and was out of pro baseball last summer.
One has to think this is a dream scenario for the Barnstormers, who get to stay the course with a manager they believe in AND bring the hometown star who won a championship back into the organization.
The Barnstormers have yet to hire a pitching coach. Rick Wise won’t return after serving in that role for the franchise’s first four seasons.
I’ll have more on the ramifications of Hayes and Herr joining forces soon.
Isn’t this an interesting piece of news!
Season could be interesting…
I guess now we can finally close the polls.
That is great news for the franchise.
LOL….way to think outside the box!
I like to tell the story of when I was at a game last year and someone hit a scorcher that stayed inches off the ground and headed right for Boots. With the smallest amount of effort, he grabbed the ball out of the air and flipped it over to the kid that usually chases down those kinds of hits. “Wow”, I thought, “I hope someday I can be half that cool”.
So here’s to Boots Day, a ten foot tall, two ton son of a gun who could eat a hammer and take a shotgun blast standing!
Back to the matter at hand, this season could be even more interesting than I had hoped it might be. Assuming this isn’t going to be a 7 month long “Clash of the Titans” where two huge egos enter, one huge ego leaves. I suppose now we’ll hear from all the people who think it’s totally wrong that Hayes remains manager while Herr is “only” a coach.
Hope this doesn’t turn out like one of those Arte Johnson lines ” Verrry interesting, but schtupit”. I can see these two fighting over who rides “shotgun”. So I eagerly await your report of the Hayes and Herr discussion.
Why do I have a sinking feeling that this is not going to be pretty?
Interesting news indeed!
Thanks Boots! My kids loved you, man! They would take your signed baseball card to their little league games and the whole team would rub it for good luck. It even worked a few times!
Good luck w/ your 43rd (I think it’s 43, anyway) consecutive one-year contract next season!
Oh goodie…a Manager in waiting. I wouldn’t want to be in Von’s shoes….They get off to a bad start like last year and …Manager change….
I doubt that. Even after the debacle of last year, they still signed Hayes for two years. I do believe he’d have to kill someone to be replaced at this point. A positive view is that I can see where the two could make an unbeatable team. Each has distinct strengths greater than or not possessed by the other. There’s no match for the two of them playing off each other anywhere else in the league. Not even close, in my opinion.
So what happened to Boots Day and where is he going for 2009?
Calgary of the Golden League. Jason had a article about it a few posts ago.