Jeff Pohl

Field Manager, 2007

St. Charles, Mo., native Jeff Pohl was named field manager of the Otters after the 2006 season following five years as pitching coach.

Jeff earned all-conference accolades as a freshman and sophomore at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., in 1995 and 1996. Selected by San Francisco in the 26th round of the 1995 draft, he passed up a chance to play for the University of Arkansas to sign with the Giants. Jeff pitched in the Giants' organization from 1996 through 1999, winning a Northwest League championship with Salem-Keizer in 1998. San Francisco placed Jeff on the roster of the Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League to protect him in the December 1998 Rule 5 draft. He was released from Shreveport of the Texas League on February 8, 1999. Jeff has been an associate scout for the Giants since 2002. In 2000 Jeff pitched for former Seattle Mariners manager Bill Plummer in Yuma of the Western League.

In 2003 and 2004, Jeff served as assistant coach for Three Rivers Community College, where he also coached in 2000 and 2001. He coached four all-conference pitchers and two all-region pitchers at Three Rivers, which made its first appearance in the region championship in 15 years. He was an assistant coach at Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kan., in 2002, when he coached the Region 6 pitcher of the year. Jeff earned his A.A. degree from Three Rivers in 1996 and his B.A. degree in sport management from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., in 2003. Jeff married Abby Cuprisin, a graduate of Central High School and the University of Southern Indiana, on November 25, 2006.

Under Jeff's tutelage, 2006 Otters pitchers set team records for fewest hits allowed per inning (.940), lowest batting average against (.250), and lowest team ERA (3.28). (Evansville's team ERA ranked third among 56 independent teams in 2006.) Mike Bille shattered franchise records with 41 appearances and 20 saves. Ryan Burnau, pitching in his third season with the Otters, moved into first place for career games pitched (95) and became the Frontier League's career ERA leader (1.98) for pitchers who have recorded at least 125 innings.

Otters pitchers led the Frontier League in ERA (3.44), shutouts (6), and fewest hits allowed (801) in 2005. Evansville pitchers ranked third in strikeouts (703), saves (24), and fewest home runs allowed (68). In addition, four of Evansville starters were among the league’s top ten ERA leaders. The Otters’ team ERA was the lowest among the 56 teams in independent baseball in 2005. Individually, Ben Foster set a franchise record with 141 1/3 innings pitched and tied a team record with 20 starts. Andre Simpson's 138 strikeouts also established a club mark. Otters pitchers struck out a franchise best 703 in 2005 and tied a team record with 24 saves.

Otters pitchers tied two Frontier League records in 2004 (Jeremy Lewis with 20 starts and Grant Williams with four shutouts). They set seven franchise records in 2004: most wins (54), most strikeouts (699), most saves (24), most innings (Jeremy Lewis with 134.2), most strikeouts (Jeremy Lewis with 120), lowest ERA (Jeremy Lewis at 2.47), and most career saves (Amad Stephens with 25). On three successive days in August, Otters' starters Robby Read, Jeremy Lewis and Andre Simpson tossed complete games shutouts against visiting Richmond to secure a 2004 playoff birth for Evansville.

Evansville pitchers set six franchise records in 2003: most wins (51), lowest ERA (3.31), most strikeouts (617), fewest walks (217), most shutouts (9), and most saves (22). The Otters' strikeout-to-walk ratio of 617 to 217 set a Frontier League record, and their 3.31 ERA was the fourth lowest in league history. Since the Frontier League's inception in 1993, only Zanesville allowed fewer walks (201 in 1994), and only Chillicothe tossed more shutouts (10 in 1996).

Eight former Evansville pitchers who studied under Jeff have coached collegiately, including six who are still active--George Fisher, Brett Lewis, Tony Stutz, Donny Langdon, Ben Foster and Anthony Del Prete. Seventeen of his protégés, including 14 former Otters, have pitched in affiliated baseball. He has coached 11 Frontier League all-stars, including Grant Williams, the league's starting pitcher of the year in 2004, and Amad Stephens, the league's 2003 rookie of the year.

A member of the American Baseball Coaches Association, Jeff has been a member of the Association of Professional Ball Players of America for 12 years. He has worked camps for the University of Evansville, Louisiana State University, Texas A & M University, Missouri State University, and the University of Georgia.

In his lone season as manager, Jeff guided the Otters to a 34-62 record.

	Wins	Losses	Percentage
2007	34	62	.354

Greg Jelks

Field Manager, 2002-2006

The winningest manager in Evansville history, Greg Jelks managed the Otters from 2002 through 2006, the longest stint at the helm of the Evansville franchise.

Jelks was raised in rural Alabama, the fourth son of Frank and Mary Jelks. After starring in three sports at Cherokee High School, Greg enrolled at nearby Gadsden State Community College on a basketball scholarship in 1980. "Charles Barkley tried out for the team before he went to Auburn," he recalls. "He just dominated our front line. After the scrimmage, he told our coach, 'I don't think these kids are good enough for me.'" A guard, Jelks helped the Cardinals capture the conference title as a freshman in 1980-81 before signing with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Jelks had excelled as a high school pitcher and shortstop on a team that had won Alabama's Class 3A championship. Impressed by his prowess in the outfield, the Phillies assigned him to their rookie league club in Bend, Ore. A 6-foot-2 righthanded batter, Greg played with future Phillies Rick Schu, Tommy Greene, Chris James, Marvin Freeman, Darren Daulton, and Juan Samuel during his ascent to the major leagues.

At Reading, Philadelphia's Double-A club, manager Tony Taylor persuaded Jelks to move to the third base. "Tony said my hands were too good to waste in the outfield," says Jelks, who also played first base.

Invited to spring training by the Phillies in 1987, Greg was the last player cut by manager Lee Elia. But after an impressive season at Triple-A Maine (.266, 23 home runs, and 79 RBI's in 123 games), Elia summoned Jelks to the majors. In 10 games with Philadelphia, Greg batted .091, doubling off Montreal's Neal Heaton for his only major league hit. (He still has the ball.)

Philadelphia sent Jelks to Maine again in 1988, but his average dipped to .207. St. Louis signed Jelks as a free agent in January 1989, adding him to its 40-man roster. At the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate in Louisville, he hit .240 with 9 home runs and 33 RBI's as Manager Mike Jorgensen's third baseman.

Spotted by a scout at a tournament in Wichita, Jelks signed with an Italian professional team in 1990. After two seasons in Italy, he moved to Australia. Greg was a replacement player for Minnesota in spring training during the strike of 1995, but returned to Australia when the Twins offered him only a Double-A contract.

Jelks earned dual citizenship in Australia in 1995 and was a member of the Aussies' Olympic team from 1997 until 1999. Since then he has served as a batting instructor on the Australian Olympic training staff, traveling to Spain, Panama, Taiwan and Cuba. In March 2006, he was an assistant coach for Australia's entry in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. A resident of Perth, he also conducts a baseball camp and teaches hitting in 240 Australian schools. Every spring, he flies home to the U.S., a 26-hour ordeal.

Jelks served as an assistant coach for former Otters' manager Dan Shwam at Catskill, N.Y., in the Northern League in 2000. In 2001, he was hitting coach for Evansville native Ed Nottle at Duluth-Superior of the Northern League.

The cousin of former University of Alabama running back Gene Jelks, Greg was inducted into the Cherokee County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

Jelks amassed a career record of 236-223 in five years in Evansville. The Otters finished 33-51 in 2002, his first year as manager. In 2003, he guided Evansville to a 51-37 mark, setting a franchise record for victories. The Otters knocked off Chillicothe in the opening round of the playoffs, but lost to Gateway in the championship series. Jelks was chosen as Frontier League Manager of the Year, the first time an Evansville skipper had ever been so honored. The Otters returned to the Frontier League finals in 2004 after finishing 54-42 in the regular season and sweeping Washington in three games in the divisional playoffs. Evansville lost to Rockford 3-0 in the finals. The Otters were 52-43 in 2005, missing the Frontier League playoffs by one game. Evansville won its first Frontier League crown in 2006 by sweeping Chillicothe in the championship round.

Jelks managed the Slippery Rock Sliders of the Frontier League to a 29-66 record in 2007. Greg now manages the Washington Wildthings of the Frontier League.

	Wins	Losses	Percentage
2002	33	51	.393
2003	51	37	.580
2004	54	42	.563
2005	52	43	.547
2006	46	50	.479
	236	223	.514

Dan Shwam

Field Manager, 2001

Utah's Dan Shwam led the Otters to a 44-40 record in 2001, his only year in Evansville.

A former second baseman in the Anaheim Angels' minor league system, Shwam began his professional baseball coaching career as the hitting instructor for the Salt Lake City Trappers of the Pioneer League. In 1987, the Trappers set a professional baseball record with 29 consecutive wins.

Shwam was named manager of the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks of the Northern League in 1993, compiling a 71-80 record in two seasons there. He managed the Mohawk Valley Landsharks (47-23) of the Northeast League in 1995 and the Newburgh Nighthawks (55-25) of the Northeast League in 1996. Shwam spent the next three seasons at the helm of the Elmira Pioneers (119-131). Shwam's 1997 Elmira club captured the Northeast League title. He managed at Catskill (38-47) of the Northern League in 2000.

After his lone season in Evansville, Shwam managed the Jackson Senators (149-138) of the Central League for three seasons, winning the league crown in 2003. Former Otter Yugi Nerei played for Jackson in 2002.

A teacher and coach at Highland High School, Shwam sat out the 2005 season, then returned as manager of Laredo (29-19) of the United League in 2006. He managed the Grays, the Can-Am League's road team, to a 44-50 record in 2007. Dan now manages the Laredo Broncos of United League Baseball.

Dan's father, Ron McBride, is football coach at Weber State.

	Wins	Losses	Percentage
2001	44	40	.550

Greg Tagert

Field Manager, 1997-2000

Greg Tagert of Vacaville, Calif., managed the Otters for four years, leading them to the Frontier League finals in 1997 and 2000.

A former pitcher at San Francisco State University, Tagert guided the Ohio Valley Redcoats of the Frontier League to a 36-34 record in 1995. Tagert's tenure as manager of the Brainerd Bobcats of the Prairie League in 1996 ended prematurely when the franchise (9-7) folded in June.

Tagert returned to the Frontier League at Evansville in 1997, steering the Otters to their first playoff berth by winning the West with a second half record of 29-10. Evansville knocked off Richmond in the first round of the playoffs, but fell to Canton in the finals. In 1998 Tagert's club won the West with a first half record of 23-16, but Springfield eliminated Evansville in three games in round one of the playoffs. Chillicothe disposed of Evansville's Western Division champs in the first round of the 1999 playoffs, but the Otters returned to the finals in 2000 by ousting River City, their first round opponent, in two games. Evansville fell to Johnstown in the finals three games to one.

After compiling a 177-148 record at Evansville, Tagert became manager of the Frontier League's Dubois County Dragons in 2001. The Dragons won the Western Division in 2001 with a record of 48-36, earning Tagert Frontier League manager of the year accolades. Dubois repeated as Western Division champs in 2002 with a 52-32 mark. Tagert followed the franchise to Kenosha, Wisc. (47-42) in 2003 and Springfield, Mo. (52-44) in 2004.

A former pitching coach at the University of New Mexico, Tagert was named manager of the Gary Southshore Railcats of the Northern League in 2005. The Railcats (51-46) captured the League's championship in Tagert's first season after amassing a regular season mark of 54-42. Gary returned to the Northern League finals in 2006, but lost to Fargo-Moorhead three games to one. Tagert was named the league's manager of the year in 2007 after leading Gary to a 58-38 record, his 12th winning season in 12 years as a manager. The Railcats won the 2007 Northern League title in a five-game series with Calgary.

	Wins	Losses	Percentage
1997	46	33	.582
1998	43	36	.544
1999	43	41	.512
2000	45	38	.542
	177	148	.545

Fernando Arroyo

Field Manager, 1996

Former Evansville Triplet Fernando Arroyo managed Evansville in 1996, stepping in after Doc Edwards resigned before the season.

A native of Sacramento, Arroyo pitched in the big leagues for eight years, compiling a 24-37 record in 121 games. The Detroit Tigers selected Arroyo in the 10th round of the 1970 amateur draft, summoning him to the majors in 1975. The Tigers traded Arroyo to the Minnesota after the 1979 season, but the Twins released him in 1982. Arroyo pitched briefly for Oakland in 1982 and 1986.

In 2005 Arroyo served a pitching coach for the Class AA Portland Sea Dogs of the Eastern League. The Los Angeles Dodgers named him as pitching coach of the Ogden Raptors, their rookie affiliate in the Pioneer League, in 2006.

	Wins	Losses	Percentage
1996	34	40	.459

Boots Day

Field Manager, 1995

Charles F. "Boots" Day, who broke in with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1969, managed the Otters in their inaugrual season.

A native of Ilion, N.Y., Day signed with the Cardinals in 1966. St. Louis traded Day to the Chicago Cubs after the 1969 season; the Cubs, in turn, dealt him to Montreal midway through the 1970 campaign. Day was the first batter ever at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium on April 10, 1971. An outfielder, he retired after appearing in 52 games with the Expos in 1974. Day's best major league season was 1971, when he hit .283 with four home runs and 33 RBIs for Montreal.

Day began his coaching career as manager of Detroit's rookie team in 1982 and 1983. After leaving Evansville, he managed Cleveland's minor league teams in Buffalo (1996) and Kinston (1997). He returned to the Cardinals as manager of their Class A Prince William team in 1998. For three seasons, Day served as hitting instructor and first base coach for the Memphis Redbirds, the Cardinals' AAA affiliate. After three years as the Kansas City Royals' Class A hitting instructor, Day was named hitting coach of the Columbus Clippers, the Washington Nationals' Class AAA affiliate, in 2007.

	Wins	Losses	Percentage
1995	31	38	.449