2014 Instructors
Barry Moss
CWL Field Coordinator
Moss is a Special Assignment Pro Scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers and previously worked within their organization as an Independent League Scout from 2009-11.
After being taken by the Cincinnati Reds in the fifth round of the 1975 first-year player draft, Moss played eight years in professional ball – six with the Reds’ organization and two with the Blue Jays. He was hired by the Cincinnati Reds as a Hitting Instructor for their Florida State League affiliate for the 1985-86 seasons.
In 1987, Moss led the Salt Lake Trappers (Rookie Pioneer League) to 29 consecutive wins, still a professional baseball record. He managed the Trappers for three seasons.
Moss managed the Erie Sailors of the New York-Pennsylvania League in 1991 and served in a variety of coaching positions for the Spokane Indians (A-Padres), Stockton Ports (High A-Brewers) and Orlando Cubs (AA-Cubs) from 1993-97. In 1998, he was hired as Player Procurement Director for the independent St. Paul Saints, a position he held with the Saints, Brockton Rox and Ft. Worth Cats over the next 13 years.
He served as the Miami Marlins Minor League Hitting Coordinator in 2012.
During the off seasons of 2000-2005, Barry was the Hitting Coach for the U.S.A. Professional Tournament Teams that played for the World Cup and Pan American Games Qualifying Tournaments.
Chris Carminucci
Independent League Pro Scout – Arizona Diamondbacks
Carminucci currently serves as a Special Assignment Pro Scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks after previous scouting experience with the Kansas City Royals and Philadelphia Phillies.
Chris’ playing career spanned parts of eight seasons from 1997-2004 in the Big South and Northeast Leagues. Immediately after, he earned his first managerial experience with St. Johns University and the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League. Chris’s professional managerial debut was in 2004 with the Bangor Lumberjacks of the Canadian-American League. He was named the Can-Am League’s Manager of the Year in 2009-10 when he led the Brockton Rox to their highest win total in club history.
Carminucci has a unique blend of on-field managing as well as front office experience. In 2006, he was named Vice President of Player Procurement for Ventura Sports Group, where he continues to help build rosters for several Can-Am and American Association teams. Carminucci has served as CEO and Director of Baseball Operations for the Brockton Rox, Atlantic City Surf and Grosseto Professional Baseball Club Italy and owns his own baseball consulting firm, Carminucci Sports Group, and was instrumental in the formation of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League of New England, a summer collegiate baseball league that began play in the summer of 2011.
Stan Cliburn
Assistant Coach – Lancaster Barnstormers (Atlantic League)
Stan Cliburn played baseball collegiately at the University of Southern Mississippi, and after a four-year Major League career, has amassed more than 20 years of experience as a professional manager.
Cliburn was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the fifth round of the 1974 first-year player draft and spent time in the Angels, Pirates, and Braves organizations. As a manager and hitting coach, he’s spent time working with some of the game’s greats such as former American League MVPs Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.
Cliburn is currently an assistant coach for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League.
Ricky VanAsselberg
Manager – Grand Prairie AirHogs (American Association)
Ricky VanAsselberg returns to the California Winter League for his fourth season after signing on in 2011.
VanAsselberg is a two-time American Association champion, having managed the the Shreveport-Bossier Captains to the title in 2010, and winning again the following season with the Grand Prairie Airhogs, whose 64-36 record was the best in the league and also the best in club history.
Prior to his American Association Career, VanAsselberg won back-to-back United League Baseball (ULB) titles as manager of the Alexandria Aces in 2006 and 2007, and fell one game short of repeating the following year. He was awarded Manager of the Year honors in each of his championship seasons after posting a 155-114 combined regular season record and a 12-5 postseason mark.
VanAsselberg played baseball collegiately at Baptist Christian College in Shreveport, LA and helped the team win national small-college titles in 1995 and 1996, while being named a small-college all-American in each season. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles and spent parts of 10 seasons in minor and independent league baseball.
Bobby Brown
Manager – Amarillo Sox (American Association)
Brown has 16 years of professional baseball experience as a player, coach, scout and manager. This is his third season with the CWL.
Brown initially played with the Springfield Capitals of the Frontier League in 1996 before hooking on with the Kansas City Royals the following year. He returned to the Frontier League in 1998 and posted career highs in batting average (.363), home runs (9) and RBI (63) with the Canton Crocodiles.
As hitting coach for the 2011 San Angelo Colts of the ULB, Brown helped the team break nearly every club offensive record. He is currently manager of the Amarillo Sox of the American Association.
John Harris
Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development – Lincoln Saltdogs (American Association)
Harris is currently the Hitting Coach for the Lincoln SaltDogs after previously spending two seasons managing the Amarillo Sox.
Harris played his college ball at Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, TX before being drafted by the California Angels in 1976. His professional playing career spanned nine seasons, including parts of three Major League seasons with the Angels from 1979-81.
In the majors, Harris recorded a .258 career average with five home runs in 58 games with the Angels. He batted .308 with 97 home runs and 562 RBI in nine minor league seasons.
Chuck Stewart
Assistant Coach – New Jersey Jackals (American Association)
Former Chicago Cubs farmhand, Chuck Stewart, is currently an assistant coach for the New Jersey Jackals of the American Association. In 2012 he joined the Newark Bears to take on his first professional baseball managerial rol. The Bears’ manager spent four seasons as a catcher in the Cubs’ organization from 1982-85. After being drafted in the 25th round of the 1982 June Amateur Draft, Stewart played in the New York-Penn, Midwest and California Leagues, before finishing his career in the Florida State League. Stewart, 51, has nine years of experience as a high school head coach in Ft. Pierce, FL. The New Jersey native and William Patterson University alumnus currently owns and operates an indoor baseball training facility in Florida, where he lives in Port St. Lucie.
Bart Zeller
Bart will spend the 2013 season as hitting coach for the Washington Wild Things were he will be in his first year with the organization. Zeller spent the 2012 season as the manager of the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League. He won the 2011 frontier league championship and was voted manager of the year in 2011 by fellow league managers.
The Chicago native has played at all levels of professional baseball in the Cardinals’ system, making the major league roster in 1970. Zeller spent the 1970 season with the Major League Club as both a player and a coach. After signing with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971, he was traded to the New York Yankees and retired as an active player after the 1971 season. In addition to being the everyday catcher, Bart also filled the role of player coach for Cardinal farm clubs in Lewiston, ID (class A) and Little Rock, AR (class AA).
Zeller was the bench and hitting coach in Sioux Falls of the Northern League (2005) and American Association (2006). He then moved to Southern Illinois in the Frontier League, as their hitting coach and bench coach. He served as pitching coach in 2010. In 2009, his hitters led the Frontier League with a .284 average and in 2007 the team’s .282 mark was second in the league. In 2010, Zeller’s pitching staff posted a league-best 3.50 ERA as the Miners posted the best won-lost record in the FL.
Brent Metheny
Manager – Frontier Grays (Frontier League)
Metheny made his managerial debut in 2013 at the helm of the Frontier Greys (formerly Road Warriors) of the Frontier League.
Capable of playing every position on the diamond, Metheny spent three seasons in the Mariners and White Sox organizations from 2003-06. Following his career in affiliated ball, Metheny spent seven seasons in the independent leagues, compiling a .310 batting average in 566 career games.
Ron Biga
Manager – Windy City Thunderbolts (Frontier League)
2014 will be Biga’s second season managing the ThunderBolts and his 16th season in professional baseball. He also serves as a Special Assignment Scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Biga began his professional coaching career as the Assistant Coach & Director of Player Procurement for the Sioux City Explorers (American Association) in 2006. He was then hired to the same positions with the Southern Illinois Miners in 2008 and remained there for three seasons, each culminating in a postseason appearance for the Miners.
In 2011, Biga became Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Joliet Slammers for their inaugural season, and put together the roster that brought home the 2011 Frontier League championship. Overall, Biga’s teams have put together a 271-208 record with him on the player procurement staff.
CJ Thieleke
Assistant Coach – Schaumburg Boomers (Frontier League)
Thieleke has served as Hitting Coach for the Frontier League’s Boomers for the past two seasons after spending the previous year on the coaching staff of the Gary South Shore RailCats
After attending the University of Iowa, Thieleke was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 32nd round of the 1996 first-year player draft. He batted .295 over 43 games for Minnesota’s Appalachian League affiliate.
From 2005-10, he served as manager for the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League, a summer collegiate wooden bat league. Thielke is one of just four managers in Northwoods League history with more than 200 career wins. He owns a 230-178 career mark with the Mallards, having made the postseason three times, including a runner-up finish in the 2008 Northwoods League Championship Series.
Thieleke is also an Assistant Coach for Madison College’s baseball team, a position he has held since 2005.
James Frisbie
Manager – Rockford Aviators (Frontier League)
Frisbie spent four seasons as a professional ballplayer, having pitched in the independent Texas-Louisiana League from 1998-2001. He appeared in 29 career games for the Alexandria Aces, Bayou Bullfrogs and Greenville Bluesmen.
Following his retirement, Frisbie began his coaching career in 2002 as Pitching Coach for the Rio Grande Valley White Wings (Central Baseball League) and was promoted to manager the following season. He then went on to serve as pitching coach for the Jackson Senators (CBL), Chillicothe Paints (Frontier League) and Coastal Bend Aviators (American Association) respectively over the next three seasons.
In 2007, Frisbie returned to the managerial position, this time with the Bradenton Juice. Despite having no home stadium, the Juice finished the 2007 campaign with a 47-42 record. Frisbie then spent three seasons with the Fort Worth Cats as their Pitching Coach before becoming the Rockford Aviators manager last season.
Chris Mongiardo
Assistant Coach & Director of Player Development – Lake Erie Crushers (Frontier League)
Mongiardo has several years of experience coaching and scouting throughout professional and collegiate baseball. In addition to his positions with the Lake Erie Crushers, he also works as an Associate Scout for the San Diego Padres.
After spending the 1999 and 2000 seasons as a player-manager for the Canton Crocodiles (Frontier League), Mongiardo served as a coach and recruiting coordinator for several collegiate programs in South Florida.
Mongiardo managed the Frontier League’s Richmond Roosters from 2003-05 and has also coached with the Gary South Shore RailCats and San Angelo Colts. He appeared as a catcher in one game each of the 2007 and 2008 seasons with the Colts.
Vinny Ganz
Assistant Coach & Director of Player Development – Normal Cornbelters (Frontier League)
Vinny Ganz enters his second season with the CornBelters and his third as a Frontier League coach. He also served as the hitting coach for the London Rippers (Frontier League) during the 2012 season. Playing only 60 games, they amassed 451 hits, 229 RBI and a .270 batting average. That average was second in the league at the completion of the season.
Dan DiPace Sr.
Manager – San Rafael Pacifics (Pacific Association)
DiPace was recently hired by the San Rafael Pacifics in December 2013 to serve as their new manager. Prior to joining the Pacifics, DiPace spent over 12 years across six teams coaching in Indy ball. While he doesn’t have a lot of experience as a manager, he had an impressive 18-5 record as an interim manager in Indy ball.
DiPace also spent some time with the Palm Springs Power, serving as their hitting coach under manager Harry Gurley during the Power’s 2011 and 2012 championship seasons.
In addition to his coaching experience, DiPace had some experience as a player in the majors. The former shortstop was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1963, and then picked up by the Minnesota Twins in the 1965 Rule 5 draft.
Harry Gurley
Manager – Palm Springs Power
Gurley’s has helped more than 45 players gain affiliated baseball experience, including 12 players who have made it all the way to the Major Leagues. Five of his pitching pupils have also been drafted in the first round of the MLB first-year player draft.
As the Ohio State University Pitching Coach from 2006-07, Gurley’s team led the Big 10 Conference in ERA and boasted its first 10-game winner in nearly a decade.
Gurley became the Palm Springs POWER Manager in 2009 as well as 2011-13 and won the Southern California Collegiate Baseball League Championship in all four seasons.
