Zeller joins coaching staff
The Wild Things have added a former Frontier League Manager of the Year to their coaching staff.
Washington announced Wednesday the hiring of Bart Zeller as their bench coach for the 2013 season.
A 71-year-old Chicago native, Zeller has spent six years in the Frontier League, including the last two as manager of the Joliet Slammers. In 2011, Zeller managed the Slammers to a 56-40 record and the Frontier League championship in their inaugural season and was named the league’s Manager of the Year.
Zeller was fired after Joliet posted a 37-58 record last season. The Slammers were recently sold but will remain in the league.
Prior to managing Joliet, Zeller was the hitting and third-base coach for Southern Illinois for four years, during which the Miners won two West Division titles and advanced to the Frontier League playoffs twice.
After attending the University of Arizona for his freshman year, Zeller transferred to Eastern Illinois, where he earned all-conference honors in both football and baseball. He was a third team NAIA All-American in baseball.
As a catcher, Zeller played professional baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals’ system, advancing to the major leagues in 1970. He played in only one inning of one game in the major leagues, catching the ninth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies May 21, 1970. He never had a plate appearance. He was released as a player by the Cardinals June 8, 1970, but stayed on as a coach for the remainder of the season.
Zeller brings extensive minor-league coaching experience to Washington. In addition to coaching in the Cardinals’ system, he was bench and hitting coach for Sioux Falls of the Northern League in 2005 and American Association in 2006.
Jim Tatum and Lenny Randle will not be returning to manager Chris Bando’s coaching staff. Their contracts were not renewed.
Labels: Bart Zeller
posted by Chris Dugan at
12:18 PM
9 Comments:
Was Don Zimmer not available?
Can they hire Wayne as bench coach to inject some youth into the team?
Will they be replacing the stairs into the dugout with a ramp for the hobbled coaches?
Will the Wild Things be having a 7th inning siesta this year?
Will they be timing the pitching changes with a stop watch or a sundial?
Is it true that Bart Zeller is actually Moonlight Graham?
Come on, Chris, these are hilarious. If you post some of the idiotic rants by other people, you have to post this.
Bart Zeller!!! Now your talking. Finally got somebody on the team that I can relate to. I've been saying all along the WT need some tired old blood - I was sort of hoping it was going to be me!
Ima Fraid
I get such entertainment from watching the fans of the Wild Things from afar, biting my tongue.
If the whining and complaining from this blog group is a reflection of the mood of the fan base there, no wonder things are spiraling down in such a hurry. Nothing makes you happy, (improvements on the field, in the park, attempts at improving the fan experience) not a move (trade or signing) made by anyone makes you happy. Amazing how many people here are "experts" on all things political, financial and baseball.
Your anonymous personal attacks on managers, coaches and staff are mean spirited. (You don't like young Bando's play, fine, but your mean personal attacks were unnecessary). I am not condoning his performance, but saying the personal attacks were unneeded. I wonder how you all would have liked those attacks on your children.
Why would anyone want to manage, coach or play there ? Now you get the 2011 FL Manager of the Year on your coaching staff and rather than say, "maybe we will see something here", another anonymous blog eludes to and makes fun of his age. Let's compare the record of the 2011 Wild Things to the shiny Championship Ring that Zeller has.
Is there anyone that would make you happy to help this team? Is there any manager, coach or player that would be good enough? With the apathetic attitude there, Stu should cut his losses, walk away from this mess and you can have more room for another bad mall. Good luck. I would say Happy Holidays, but I am not sure many of you could be very happy at much of anything.
I've been saying all along that Stu needs to close shop and move the team. He should bulldoze the stadium. The idea of building another empty mall on the property sounds like one made for Washington.
I think most of the Wild Things fans criticizing the hiring of Zeller couldn't tell you who the man is or what he's done. They just like to bitch because that's all they can do. They're obviously not smart because they're still living in Washington. If they had a brain they'd move, which is what Stu should do with that team.
Um look at his record last year, Maybe he just was Lucky his first year. I think they didn't fair so well let year in Joliet, or why would they let him go? Why would he go from Manger to a bench Coach just thinking.
The Slammers were sold and the plan is for the guy who bought the team (a scout for Milwaukee) to manage the team. Thus, Zeller was out of a job.
I was the one that posted the remark about the new bench coach.
For goodness sake, lighten up...it was a joke! I'm 76 years old myself. When you lose your sense of humor then it's time to just crawl away and die. There was NO disrespect intended.
Ron Wilson
I played for Bart & you fans are so lucky to have him! All of us on the team will miss him. You all have no idea what good is. And, he's in better shape than most 50 year olds. I love te fans that couldn't make the highschool team complain about what good looks like.
^5 to the poster at 8:31PM!
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