Pulaski River Turtles

GENERAL INFORMATION

Address:..................................700 S. Washington Ave, ..............................................................Pulaski, VA 24301 Phone: .....................................................(540) 980-1070 Website: ......... mlb.com/appalachian-league/Pulaski Twitter: ...................................................@theriverturtles Instagram: ......................................@pulaskiriverturtles Facebook: ....................................Pulaski River Turtles League Championships....................1986, 1991, 2013 Stadium..................... Motor Mile Field at Calfee Park Stadium Built..............................................................1935 Stadium Capacity ...................................................3,700 Stadium Dimensions (LF-CF-RF)...........335-396-330

FRONT OFFICE STAFF

Operated By ................................Calfee Park Baseball General Manager ...........................................JW Martin Head Groundskeepers .................... Buddy Hobgood ..........................................................................Gary Martin

GAME INFORMATION

PA Announcer ...................................... Ben Hanneman Broadcast Announcer ..................................Andy Loce Broadcast Network............ESPN Blacksburg 93.1FM ......................................................810AM, 97.1FM; Online No. of Games Broadcast .................................... All 54 Official Scorer............................................. Will Hensley Standard Game Times ......................................7:00pm Newspaper.........................................Southwest Times Sports Editor............David Gravely, (540) 980-5220 NOTABLE ALUMNI

Urban Meyer..............................................................1983 David Justice.............................................................1985 Steve Avery................................................................1988 Turk Wendell..............................................................1988 Mark Wohlers...................................................... 1998-89 Javy Lopez .................................................................1989 Tony Graffanino........................................................ 1990 Brad Clontz ................................................................1992 Jason Schmidt...........................................................1992 Mike Lamb..................................................................1997 Kevin Mench..............................................................1999 Travis Snider............................................................ 2006

ABOUT

According to the Virginia Herpetological Society, 20 different species of turtles reside within the state’s boundaries, over half of which can be found in the New River Valley where the town of Pulaski is located.

In a nod to that New River Valley heritage and its waterways teaming with terrapins, the newly-restructured Appalachian League’s Pulaski franchise has been rebranded as the River Turtles.

The inspiration behind the River Turtles name was based on feedback from the local baseball community, as well as a renewed commitment to a family-friendly culture at Motor Mile Field at Calfee Park.

Most recently an affiliate of the New York Yankees, Pulaski is a four-time Appy League champion since joining the league in 1946. Its alumni include former MLB stars David Justice, Steve Avery, and Javy Lopez, and even legendary football coach Urban Meyer who spent two seasons in the Atlanta Braves organization.

Set to take over as the manager of the first-ever bale of Pulaski River Turtles is Clark Crist who brings with him 41 years of professional baseball experience with seven different MLB organizations. At his side in the dugout will be pitching coach Ted Power, hitting coach Roger Hill, and player development coach Chris Jacobs.

MANAGER

Clark Crist brings 41 years of professional baseball experience to the helm of the River Turtles. From 2015-2020, Crist served as a National Junior College Cross Checker for the Arizona Diamondbacks, overseeing all junior college prospects in the country for the club. He has also served as a scout for various other Major League Baseball teams since 1985, including the Houston Astros (19851992), Boston Red Sox (1992-1994), Cleveland Indians (1994-1995), New York Mets (1995-1997), St. Louis Cardinals (1997-2006) and the Cincinnati Reds (2006-2015). Additionally, Crist played collegiate baseball at the University of Arizona, where he was the starting shortstop for the 1980 team that put together 19 late-inning comebacks en route to being crowned national champions. The team also set the all-time school record for stolen bases with 135 throughout the season. After his time at Arizona, Crist was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 14th round of the 1980 MLB June Amateur Draft and spent four seasons in Minor League Baseball, eventually serving as a player-coach for the Mariners Double-A affiliate, the Chattanooga Lookouts, from 1982-1985.

TED POWER

PITCHING COACH

Longtime Major League pitcher and coach Ted Power arrives in Pulaski this summer to serve as the pitching coach for the River Turtles. Most recently the bullpen coach for the Cincinnati Reds from 2016-18, he also worked throughout the club’s minor league system as the pitching coach for the Rookie Advanced League Billings Mustangs (2000-01), High-A Dayton Dragons (2002) and Triple-A Louisville Bats (2006-16). Over the course of his 13-year MLB playing career Power pitched for eight different teams, posting a 4.00 ERA over 564 appearances with 701 strikeouts and 70 saves. In his first of two stints with the Reds, he led the National League with 78 appearances in 1984, recorded a career-high 27 saves in 1985 and amassed 204.0 innings over 34 starts in 1987. In 1990, Power helped the Pittsburgh Pirates reach the NL Championship Series, starting game six for the Bucs. He also pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners. Power was drafted in the fifth round of the 1976 MLB Draft out of Kansas State.

HITTING COACH

Roger Hill will join the Pulaski River Turtles as the club’s hitting coach for the 2021 season. He is currently in his seventh year as an assistant coach at West Los Angeles College where he also began his collegiate playing career. Hill previously coached at Compton Community College and Washington Preparatory High School in California, as well as two seasons in the Cleveland Indians minor league system. As a player, Hill was named the California State Junior College Co-Player of the Year before moving on to the University of Nebraska where he earned All-Big 8 First Team honors in back-to-back seasons. He was then drafted in the 14th round of the 1982 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners and played five professional seasons, ascending as high as Triple-A.

CHRIS JACOBS

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

Chris Jacobs will make his Appy League coaching debut as the player development coach for Pulaski this season. From Winston-Salem, N.C., Jacobs concluded a 13-year professional career after the 2019 campaign. Drafted in the 17th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2007, he played 10 seasons in the minor leagues and three more at the independent level. After eight years in the Dodgers organization, Jacobs reached as high as Triple-A Charlotte for the Chicago White Sox in 2015 and spent the 2016 campaign at Double-A Springfield in the St. Louis Cardinals system. He then played three seasons of independent ball for the Sussex County Miners in the Can-Am League and both the Sioux Falls Canaries and Fargo-Moorhead RedHawksin the American Association. A lifetime .274 hitter, Jacobs smashed 173 career home runs and drove in 641 runs.