Trail Droppings 2040- 2 Desjardins Out, Thomas In

[indiansfan]

Desjardins Out, Thomas In

In a surprise move the Calgary Pioneers gave pitching coach Ralph Desjardins his walking papers and replaced him with longtime Calgary hurler Steve Thomas. Desjardins still had a year left on his contract and was coming off an excellent year that saw his team go to the Landis round largely due to its rotation.

“We just thought it was time to make a change,” said GM Kevin Dickson. “Ralph has been with the organization a long time, but we thought it was time to give Steve a shot. He has spent 14 years working his way through our minor league system and it was time to promote him.”

Calgary has several former players working as coaches in their system and it was only a matter of time before the team made some changes to its aging staff. Desjardins at 66 years old was the oldest of the group and had been coaching for Calgary since 2018. He has been the pitching coach in Calgary for the past 6 seasons.

Thomas was the manager of the Duluth Dragons last season, Calgary’s AA team. He started coaching in 2027 in Rookie ball and then was with Short A Havana and A level Quebec all as a pitching coach. His only time as a manager was last year. Thomas pitched for 11 seasons in Calgary, posting a 114-82 record. He was on both Landis winning clubs and was a teammate of manager Terry Cochran.

“Ralph is one of the best pitching coaches in the game and he left big shoes to fill,” Thomas said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hired next week by another club, he’d be a great role model for one of the expansion teams.

[7teen]

Desjardins... Fired in Calgary then hired as Pitching coach in Madison... It just keeps getting worse.

[indiansfan]

Good move by Madison

[RonCo]

Good move by Madison

Hey, we haven't heard that in a while.

Hi, Chris ...