Connecticut Tigers Manager and Coaches for 2017 Season

Manager: Gerald Laird takes the reins as manager for the 2017 season. Laird was drafted by the Oakland A’s in the 2nd round of the 1998 draft and made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers in 2003. He played parts of 13 seasons with Rangers, Tigers, Cardinals, Braves and retired from the Diamondbacks in 2015. Laird appeared in 2 games for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican Baseball League in 2016.

Pitching Coach: Ace Adams returns for his second season as pitching coach with the Tigers. He has over 30 years of coaching experience at the professional and collegiate level. Professionally, he has coached for the Montreal, Boston, St. Louis, and Houston organizations. He was a college assistant at the University of Michigan, Brandeis University, Harvard University, and Dartmouth College. This is his third time coaching in the New York-Penn League (Lowell Spinners, 2003 and Batavia Muckdogs, 2010-11).


Hitting Coach: Rafael Martinez enters his 12th season as a coach in the Detroit organization as the new hitting coach at Connecticut. He was the manager of the Dominican Summer League Tigers during the 2011-15 seasons and the Gulf Coast Tigers in 2016.

Athletic Trainer: Jarad Branski served as athletic trainer with the Gulf Coast League Tigers during the 2015-16 seasons.

Strength & Conditioning Coach: Edwin Ortiz has served as strength & conditioning coach with Indios de Mayaguez in Puerto Rico's Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente since 2013 and held the same position with the Rookie League Gulf Coast Tigers in 2016.

Photo Credits: The Majors Sports Network, Getty Images, MiLB.com

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