Starscreams (48.04) 'Who the Heck is Mel Jenkins?'

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Starscreams (48.04) 'Who the Heck is Mel Jenkins?'

Post by mragland » Thu Aug 19, 2021 1:38 pm

Starscreams: A Valencia Stars Baseball Blog

Who the Heck is Mel Jenkins?

12/16/2047
Brianna Robles, Starscreams contributor

Earlier this month, the Stars announced that they had hired a new manager to replace the departing Juan Martinez (132-192). His name is Mel Jenkins. It's debatable whether anyone outside the Stars front office has ever heard him, let alone interviewed him for a big league manager job.

So, who is Mel Jenkins? First, let's review his managerial experience.

That was easy. There is none.

In light of this, the question arises, what has Mel Jenkins done to qualify him for a job managing a purported major league ball club?

Second, let's look at the mystery of his playing career. Buffalo drafted young Jenkins back in 2016. He did not appear in a game until 2017, his age twenty season. He played in the Buffalo minor league system for six years, and played well. The peak of his career was also his last season as a professional ballplayer. In 2022 he posted a .308/.368/.543 slash line at the AAA level during his age twenty-five season. This same year the Bison won sixty-seven games.

A few more questions arise. Why couldn't a prospect playing this well in AAA, and who had a track record of good performance throughout their career, not at least get a look in the bigs, especially given how woeful the major league club was? And why did Jenkins's career just end there? Was there an injury? Were there 'character' issues?

Perhaps we will get answers to those questions in the coming weeks.

Third, let's look at Jenkins's post-playing career. While we know he has never managed a professional baseball game, he has never left the sport. Sources in other BBA front offices have confirmed that Jenkins has worked as a traveling instructor for various clubs for the better part of two decades, and he has worked with players at all levels. His specialization was fielding. Nobody I talked to has anything bad to say about him. Mostly people talk about both his ability to work with just about anybody and about his 'baseball mind'.

For a team as defensively challenged as Valencia was in '47, someone like Jenkins makes sense and might be the right guy right now. Somebody who can both settle down the clubhouse and introduce a new emphasis on fundamentals might just be the tonic the club needs. It's not a move without risk, and whether his skills translate into success as a manager is anybody's guess, but it's a defensible move.
Morris Ragland
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President, Baseball Ops, Valencia Stars (10/24/47 - present)
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Re: Starscreams (48.04) 'Who the Heck is Mel Jenkins?'

Post by scottsdale_joe » Thu Aug 19, 2021 3:58 pm

Good story.
Joe - GM UMEBA CAIRO PHARAOHS (2047-xxxx); Vancouver Mounties (1996-2009; 2035-2036); Halifax Hawks (2023-2026)Image LINKS:ImageImageImageImageImage

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