New York Yankees Announce 2022 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Field Staff

Doug Davis returns as manager with several new additions to SWB dugout

The New York Yankees have announced the field staffs for each of their Minor League affiliates and PA-native Doug Davis returns to helm Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Davis will have a nearly-new bench backing him this season with Pitching Coach Graham Johnson, Hitting Coach Trevor Amicone and Defensive Coach Lino Diaz joining the RailRiders field staff. Raul Dominguez returns to the RailRiders for his second season as a Defensive Coach.

Jimmy Downam is the team’s new Athletic Trainer, while Strength & Conditioning Coach Larry Adegokeis back for his second season. Brent Drevalas will serve as the Video Manager and Nick Loeffelholz will be the Advance Scouting Analyst. Jim Billington will serve as the RailRiders Home Clubhouse Manager for the second straight season.

After three years of coaching in a variety of roles for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Davis was slated to manage the RailRiders in 2020 but officially took the reigns in the dugout last season. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre finished the season with a 75-52 record and in second place in the Northeast Division of Triple-A East.

Davis, 59, graduated from Central Columbia High School and played collegiately at NC State University. He was a ninth-round pick by the California Angels in the 1984 First-Year Player Draft and played professionally for 12 years, appearing in 797 games.

Davis made his Major League debut in 1988 for the Angels and finished his playing career in 1995. He moved into the coaching ranks the following season and won a New York-Penn League title with Pittsfield in 1997. In 1998, he led Columbia to the South Atlantic League crown. Davis was a bench coach on Jack McKeon’s Florida Marlins staff in 2003, helping lead that club to a World Series win over the Yankees. The Toronto Blue Jays tabbed Davis to lead the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2006 and then elevated him to lead the Syracuse Chiefs in 2007 and 2008.

Over nine seasons as a manager, Davis has skippered 1,126 games with a .524 winning percentage (590-536). In addition to his time as a manager or coach, he has also held the positions of Minor League Field Coordinator for the Montreal Expos, the Marlins and the Toronto Blue Jays

Johnson, 36, joins the Yankees organization as the RailRiders new Pitching Coach after serving in the same role at multiple levels with the Houston Astros organization since 2018. He played at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, MO, before becoming a graduate assistant at Lindenwood University, completing his Master’s of Education with an emphasis in strength and conditioning degree in 2010. After a stint with Western Illinois University, Johnson joined the staff at Morehead State. He was the pitching coach for the Eagles from 2012-17 and also served as an assistant head coach, oversaw field maintenance and the academic development of all student-athletes involved in the baseball program. In 2018, Johnson joined the Astros system as the Pitching Coach for Class-A Quad Cities. He spent 2019 & 2021 as the Pitching Coach for Corpus Christi in Double-A.

Amicone, 34, will serve as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Hitting Coach this season. He joined the Yankees organization in 2020 and spent last season with New York’s Dominican Summer League team. The Sandy, Utah, native has served as an assistant coach and camp coordinator for the Dixie State baseball program as well as the head baseball coach at Woods Cross High School in Utah. Amicone has also worked privately with hitters at the professional, college, high school and youth levels. He was the play-by-play voice of the Orem Owlz from 2010-11 and 2013-14. His father, Marc, is the General Manager of the Salt Lake Bees in the Pacific Coast League.

Diaz, 51, enters his eighth season with the Yankees organization. He spent 2015-16 as a defensive coach for the GCL Yankees and served in the same role for Trenton in 2017. Diaz managed the Staten Island Yankees to a 37-36 record in 2018 and returned to the GCL in 2019 as their defensive coach. In 2021, he was a defensive coach in the Florida Complex League. Diaz was originally selected by Kansas City in the 30th round of the 1993 First-Year Player Draft and hit .294 over 504 games in the Royals Minor League system spanning five years. Diaz began his coaching career in 1998 with Indianapolis, then a Cincinnati affiliate. He went on to serve a variety of roles for Cleveland, including stints as the Cultural Development Coordinator (2002-04, ‘10-12), Assistant Farm Director (2005-06) and the Director of Latin American Operations (2007-09).

Dominguez, 40, spent the 2021 season on Davis’s staff coaching outfielders and baserunning, helping lead the RailRiders to a franchise-record 148 stolen bases. He was with the Trenton Thunder in 2018 and 2019. He initially signed with the Yankees as a non-drafted Minor League free agent in 2001 and played four seasons before moving to the player development side. Dominguez also spent eight years managing teams in the Gulf Coast and Dominican Summer Leagues. 2022 marks his 15th season in the Yankees organization.

Downam enters his tenth season with the Yankees as an Athletic Trainer, but his first in Triple-A. He joined the Yankees in 2013 as the trainer for Staten Island and also spent three seasons with Charleston from 2014 through 2016. Downam has been the New York’s trainer for their Double-A club each of the last five seasons. He attended Liberty University, where he received his B.S. in Athletic Training in 2009 and a M.S. in sports administration in 2012.

Adegoke joined the Yankees organization on a full-time basis in 2018 and joined Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year. He served as the Yankees performance science assistant in the spring of 2017. Adegoke graduated with a B.S. in exercise science from Kennesaw State University (Ga.), where he also spent time as a strength and conditioning intern for the football team. He earned his M.S. in exercise and nutrition science from the University of Tampa.

Three former RailRiders coaches have been promoted to Aaron Boone’s Major League staff this year. Casey Dykes was the RailRiders Hitting Coach in 2021 and is now the Yankees Assistant Hitting Coach. Desi Druschel replaced Pitching Coach Dustin Glant midway through the season when Glant left the organization for an opportunity at Indiana University. Druschel is now the Yankees Assistant Pitching Coach. Former Red Barons infielder Travis Chapman served as the RailRiders Defensive Coach in 2018 and is now the Yankees First Base Coach.

Longtime RailRiders trainer Darren London has retired after 33 years in the Yankees organization. He spent the last 29 seasons as the New York’s Triple-A trainer, spanning the club’s final years in Columbus and each year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since 2007.

Please direct all interview requests to Adam Marco, the Director of Communications for the RailRiders. He can be reached at (570) 558-4637 or via email at amarco@swbrailriders.com.

The RailRiders open the 2022 season on the road at Syracuse on April 5. Season ticket memberships and single-game tickets are on sale now. Visit www.swbrailriders.com for more information

RailRiders add 13 Employees to Front Office for 2022 Season

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, are pleased to announce key additions to their front office staff as the start of the 2022 season approaches. With the first pitch of the new campaign less than 100 days away, the RailRiders have added 13 new employees to the front office roster.

“We are excited to grow our staff in several key areas and in ways that positively impact our operation,” stated John Adams, Team President of the RailRiders. “We have had a strong core in place and are excited to add new energy to the front office. These new hires are spread across several departments like ticket sales, corporate partnerships and marketing, and should allow everyone on staff to reach their fullest potential.”

Matt Hamilton is the RailRiders new Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. He graduated from West Texas A&M University in 2010 and spent seven years as a news reporter and anchor before a transition to media sales. He joined the Amarillo Sod Poodles in 2018. In three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks Double-A affiliate, Hamilton advanced from serving as a corporate partnerships executive to heading up the department. Under his leadership, the Sod Poodles corporate partnerships grew revenue by over 25% while also retaining 99% of their partners despite the global pandemic.

Chris Hutson joined the RailRiders front office in October as the VP of Ticket Sales, Service and Operations. A native New Yorker, he has a wealth of sales and marketing experience at the team, league office, event and venue levels. He was the principal and co-founder of Turnstyles USA, the first-of-its-kind, multi-dimensional sales support agency that served clients across all major sports. Hutson has also worked for the NFL in a variety of roles as well as Spectacor Management Group, the Philadelphia 76ers and Madison Square Garden, where he directed sales for the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.

Holly Gumble is the new senior staff accountant. She is a graduate of Dallas High School and a 2010 graduate of West Chester University, where she earned her degree in Accounting.

Jordan Calvey is the RailRiders new Director of Marketing. She attended Abington Heights High School and is a 2014 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. She built her marketing and sports industry experience through working several Olympic Games with NBC Sports, and at marketing agencies, Inspira and Match Marketing. Calvey most recently spent two years with the U.S. Figure Skating Association in Colorado Springs as the Marketing Manager, where she led ticket sales growth and marketing for their tent pole events, managed organizational campaigns and drove brand awareness locally and nationally.

Katherine Arata has joined the staff as the Marketing Manager. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2019 and interned with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers and at the Astros/Nationals Spring Training Complex in West Palm Beach, Florida, after graduation. Arata spent the 2021 season with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies as the Director of Marketing and Promotions for the New York Mets Double-A affiliate.

Taylor Moy is the new Video Production Manager. A Queens, NYC native, she graduated from the University at Buffalo in 2019 with degrees in media and psychology. Before the start of her career in minor league baseball, she studied abroad in Spain and completed the Disney College Program. Moy spent 2021 with the Rumble Ponies as their video production assistant before becoming a production intern for the New York Giants.

Kirsten Peters is the RailRiders Social Media and Special Events Manager. She is a 2021 graduate of Wilkes University with degrees in communication studies, sports management and creative writing. While at Wilkes, Peters was the editor-in-chief of the student-run newspaper, The Beacon. She was also the program director of Wilkes’ student-run television show, Wilkes Now! She served as the baseball team’s intern for four seasons, keeping the scorebook, recording stats and acting as the team photographer. She added baseball social media director to her list of responsibilities in 2018.

Joshua Klein is a new Corporate Partnerships Manager for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. A native of Montville, NJ, he attended Susquehanna University, where he majored in broadcasting and was a member of the River Hawks Crew Club. After graduating in 2019, Klein worked for the Reading Fightin Phils as their Media Relations Intern/Social Media Coordinator. Following his time with Reading, he moved to Nevada and was the Communications Coordinator for the Reno Aces before the cancelation of the 2020 season.

Kate Mummert joins the front office as a Corporate Services Manager. She is a native of Dover, PA, and attended York College of Pennsylvania, graduating in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Management. Mummert spent the last three years in the Atlantic League working for the York Revolution in retail, ticketing and client services.

Anthony D’Andrea and Chris Kunzmann have joined the front office as group sales executives.

D’Andrea is a 2021 graduate of the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing. The Norwalk, CT native completed social media and marketing internships with Adapting Social and Crowdpac, and served as an Athletics Marketing and Promotions intern for Monmouth University in 2021.

Kunzmann is a New Jersey native and a 2021 graduate of  Penn State. He has previously worked for the Penn State basketball team, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs as a Game Day Intern and the Philadelphia Eagles as a Ticket and Fan Services Intern.  

Brandon Brzenski is the club’s new Stadium Operations Manager after spending three seasons with the club as an intern. Brzenski attended Kutztown University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management in 2020. He also attended East Stroudsburg University and graduated in 2021 with a master’s degree in Sport Management.

In addition to the recent hires, Kyle Davis joined the RailRiders last summer as Account Executive Season Ticket Sales. A NEPA native, Davis was previously a Marketing/Services Intern with the team in 2018. He also interned with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as the Game Day operations Intern and the Washington Wild Things as the Event/Operations Intern. Davis attended Temple University and graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in Sport and Recreation Management.

For more information on these personnel moves or the upcoming season, please contact the RailRiders front office at (570) 969-2255 or visit swbrailriders.com.