Three New Members Added; Three Coaches Return

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers today announced the coaching staff for the 2011 season, which includes three returning members and three new additions.  The announcement was made by made by Executive Vice President and General Manger Doug Melvin.

 “The new members of the coaching staff bring an energy and work ethic needed for the marathon baseball season,” said Melvin.  Each share the same goal of getting the Brewers back to the postseason.  They have experience in both the development of young players and the ability to relate and teach players who are extending their Major League careers.  The returning members of the staff are also excited and looking forward to working with new manager Ron Roenicke.”

 Rick Kranitz has been named pitching coach, replacing Rick Peterson.  Kranitz, 52, joins the Brewers from Baltimore, where he served as the Orioles’ pitching coach from 2008 through last season.  He also served as pitching coach with Florida from 2006-07.  As pitching coach with the Marlins, Kranitz guided a staff which had four rookie hurlers produce at least 10 wins each in 2006.  That season he was named Major League Coach of the Year by Baseball America.

 In addition to his roles as a Major League pitching coach in Baltimore and Florida, Kranitz spent 22 years coaching in the Chicago Cubs organization, holding positions at every level in the minor leagues along with stints in the majors as assistant pitching coach (1996-98, 2000-01) and bullpen coach (2002).  Kranitz pitched for five seasons in the Brewers’ farm system after being selected by Milwaukee in the fourth round of the 1979 draft.

 Jerry Narron has been named bench coach, replacing Willie Randolph.  Narron, 54, has over three decades of experience in professional baseball as a player, coach and manager.  He last worked in a Major League dugout as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds from 2005-07.  He also served as manager in Texas from 2001-02.  Narron has twice worked as a bench coach, coming in 2003 with Boston and from 2004-05 with Cincinnati.  The former catcher played eight seasons in the Major Leagues from 1979-87 with New York-AL (1979), Seattle (1980-81, ‘87) and California (1983-86).

 Garth Iorg has been named first-base/infield coach.  Iorg, 56, spent the last four seasons as roving infield coordinator for the Brewers.  He also spent time at the Major League level with Milwaukee, serving as third-base coach under interim manager Dale Sveum in 2008.  Iorg’s previous first-base coaching experience came with Toronto from 2001-02.  The former infielder player nine Major League seasons, all with the Blue Jays (1978, 1980-87).

 Ed Sedar returns to the staff for 2011.  He will continue to serve as baserunning coach but will switch from the first base to the third base coaches box, replacing Brad Fischer.  Also returning to the staff is hitting coach Dale Sveum, who signed a two-year contract extension on October 23, and bullpen coach Stan Kyles.  Sveum, who has been on the coaching staff since 2006, has served as hitting coach since 2009.  Kyles will enter his third season as bullpen coach.

 In addition to the above coaching staff announcements, the Brewers named John Shelby outfield instructor/eye in the sky and Josh Seligman strength and conditioning specialist.

 Shelby, 52, spent the last three seasons with Baltimore as first-base/outfield coach.  He also held those positions in Los Angeles (1998-2005) and Pittsburgh (2006-07).  The former outfielder played 11 seasons in the Major Leagues with Baltimore (1981-87), Los Angeles (1987-90) and Detroit (1990-91).

 Seligman, 35, replaces Chris Joyner.  He spent the last four years as minor league strength and conditioning coordinator with the Florida Marlins.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in sports medicine from Willamette University in 1998 and his master’s degree nutritional sciences from the University of Hawaii in 2004.

First-time honors for seven of 18; Guerrero wins 8th award, and Pujols wins his 6th

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville Slugger®, celebrating 126 years in baseball this season,

proudly announced the 2010 Silver Slugger™ Award winners tonight in a special hour-long

telecast on MLB Network, hosted by former MLB All-Star Harold Reynolds and Greg Amsinger.

Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals picked up his sixth Silver Slugger Award at first

base in the National League, while Vladimir Guerrero of the American League’s Texas Rangers

snagged his eighth award, his first as designated hitter. The Braves’ Brian McCann earned his

fourth award at catcher in the NL and the Twins’ Joe Mauer obtained his fourth award, also at

catcher, in the AL. Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals also picked up his fourth award in the

outfield.

The Silver Slugger award winners were determined by a vote of Major League Baseball

coaches and managers who named the players they felt were the best offensive producers at each

position in both the American and National Leagues in 2010. Selections were based on a

combination of offensive statistics including batting average, on-base percentage and slugging

percentage, as well as the coaches’ and managers’ general impressions of a player’s overall

offensive value. Managers and coaches were not allowed to vote for players on their own team.

Tabulation of the balloting was verified by the accounting firm of Mountjoy Chilton Medley

LLP.

Among the teams represented by this year’s winners, the Colorado Rockies, the Texas

Rangers, the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals each had two members. The

Rockies had two first-time winners, Troy Tulowitzki at SS and Carlos Gonzalez in the outfield,

and the Rangers had second-time winner Josh Hamilton in the outfield and the aforementioned 8-

time-winner Guerrero at DH. The Brewers’ Yovani Gallardo acquired his first award at pitcher

and Ryan Braun gained a spot as an outfielder. Braun’s award was his third in as many years.

The Cardinals also had two team members represented – Holliday with his fourth award in the

outfield position in addition to Pujols’ sixth award at first base.

Three of the six outfield selections were first-time Silver Slugger winners – Jose Bautista

of the Toronto Blue Jays, Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Carlos Gonzalez of the

Colorado Rockies.

Other first-time winners were Alexei Ramirez of the Chicago White Sox at shortstop for

the AL and Dan Uggla from the Florida Marlins at second base for the NL.

The remaining infield selections for the American League include: Miguel Cabrera of the

Detroit Tigers, who captured his third award (his first at first base); Robinson Cano of the New

York Yankees, who received his second award for second base; and Adrian Beltre of the Boston

Red Sox at third base, who earned his second award – his last Silver Slugger was in 2004 with the

Dodgers.

Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals secured his second award at third base

for the National League.

2010 Silver Slugger Winners

American League

1B – Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

2B – Robinson Cano, New York Yankees

3B – Adrian Beltre, Boston Red Sox

SS – Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox

OF – Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays

OF – Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays

OF – Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

C – Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins

DH - Vladimir Guerrero, Texas Rangers

National League

1B – Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

2B – Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins

3B – Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals

SS – Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies

OF – Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

OF – Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies

OF – Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals

C – Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves

P – Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers

All 18 awards were in the studio for the Silver Slugger Award Show on MLB Network,

and this is the first time all 18 awards have ever been displayed collectively outside of the

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. Each trophy is three feet tall and bears the engraved name

of the winner and his Silver Slugger teammates in his respective league. After the 2010 Silver

Slugger Award Show airs, the awards will be sent back to Louisville where the public can see all

18 on display over the winter at Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. In a ceremony early in

the 2011 season, the specially designed Silver Slugger Award will be presented to each player by

a representative of the Hillerich & Bradsby Co., makers of Louisville Slugger, the Official Bat of

Major League Baseball.

The Silver Slugger Award was instituted by Louisville Slugger in 1980 as a natural

extension of the Silver Bat Award, which is – as its name indicates – a silver-plated bat presented

by Louisville Slugger to the batting champions in the AL and NL. This year’s Silver Bat Award

winners are Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers and Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies.

Hamilton hit .359 for the Rangers to claim the AL honor. Gonzalez won the NL batting title with

a .336 average.

Both will receive their Silver Bat Awards in on-field presentations early in the 2011

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers today announced the Club’s 2011 Spring Training schedule, which will begin on Monday, February 28 with a split squad game vs. San Francisco at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix and at Chicago-NL in Mesa.  The Brewers will play 31 exhibition games this season, including 16 games at Maryvale Baseball Park.

 The Brewers will play NL Central Division rivals Chicago (Wednesday, March 2) and Cincinnati (Sunday, March 20), who each make one visit to Maryvale this year.  The Brewers celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Maryvale Baseball Park against Chicago-AL and will be wearing Green Caps to commemorate the day.  On Tuesday, March 22, when the Brewers play the Padres, they will host their annual “Cerveceros Day” at Maryvale Baseball Park and don their white Cerveceros uniforms.

 The Annual Brewers – Oakland Charity game is scheduled for Thursday March 3^rd at Maryvale this year.  All ticket, parking and concession net proceeds are donated to the City of Phoenix Kool Kids Program, providing free swimming to at-risk youth under age 17 within the City of Phoenix.

 The Brewers play four consecutive games at home from Thursday, March 10 through Sunday, March 13, marking the longest homestand of Spring Training.

 The final home game at Maryvale Baseball Park for the Brewers is set for Sunday, March 27.  The Brewers will close out the Spring season on Tuesday, March 29 at San Diego in Peoria.

 All games at Maryvale Baseball Park are scheduled for 1:05 pm Arizona Time.  All road Spring Training games are also scheduled for 1:05 pm Arizona Time, except for Wednesday, March 16 at Seattle in Peoria (7:05 p.m.)

 Tickets for the Milwaukee Brewers home Spring Training games will go on sale at 10 am CT on Monday, December 6 via the internet at brewers.com and by phone at 1-800-933-7890.  Normal business hours are from 9am – 5pm CST.  Sales at the Maryvale Baseball Park Box Office will begin on Monday, February 7, 2011.  Tickets are available in four seating areas: Field Box ($22), Infield Reserved ($16), Outfield Reserved ($13) and Lawn Seating ($8).  All Thursday home games will feature the Thirsty Thursday promotion sponsored by Miller Lite -  for $20.00 Brewers fans receive an outfield reserve ticket, T-shirt and beer voucher.   Information on Spring Training Season Tickets can be obtained by calling the Milwaukee Brewers Ticket Office at 414-902-4000.

 Please note that games and times are subject to change.

Milwaukee Brewers’ 2011 Spring Training Schedule

Date                                        Time (local)    (CT)                Opponent                               Place____

Monday, February 28           1:05 pm          2:05 pm          San Francisco Giants            Maryvale

1:05 pm           2:05 pm           at Chicago Cubs                      Mesa

Tuesday, March 1                   1:05 pm           2:05 pm           at Chicago White Sox             Glendale

Wednesday, March 2            1:05 pm          2:05 pm          Chicago Cubs                                    Maryvale

Thursday, March 3               1:05 pm          2:05 pm          Oakland Athletics                  Maryvale

Friday, March 4                      1:05 pm           2:05 pm           at San Francisco                      Scottsdale

Saturday, March 5                1:05 pm          2:05 pm Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim     Maryvale

Sunday, March 6                     1:05 pm           2:05 pm           at Texas Rangers                     Surprise

Monday, March 7                   1:05 pm           2:05 pm           at Cincinnati Reds                  Goodyear

Tuesday, March 8                 1:05 pm          2:05 pm          Los Angeles Dodgers                        Maryvale

Wednesday, March 9              1:05 pm           2:05 pm           at Arizona Diamondbacks      Salt River

Thursday, March 10             1:05 pm          2:05 pm          Colorado Rockies                  Maryvale

Friday, March 11                  1:05 pm          2:05 pm          Oakland Athletics                  Maryvale

Saturday, March 12              1:05 pm          2:05 pm          Arizona Diamondbacks        Maryvale

DAYLIGHT-SAVINGS TIME BEGINS MARCH 13

Sunday, March 13                 1:05 pm          3:05 pm          Kansas City Royals               Maryvale

Monday, March 14                 1:05 pm           3:05 pm           at San Francisco Giants          Scottsdale

Tuesday, March 15                 1:05 pm           3:05 pm           at Cleveland Indians               Goodyear

Wednesday, March 16            7:05 pm           9:05 pm           at Seattle Mariners                  Peoria

Thursday, March 17             1:05 pm          3:05 pm          Chicago White Sox                Maryvale

Friday, March 18                    1:05 pm           3:05 pm           at Colorado Rockies               Salt River

Saturday, March 19                1:05 pm           3:05 pm           at Los Angeles Dodgers         Glendale

Sunday, March 20                 1:05 pm          3:05 pm          Cincinnati Reds                     Maryvale

Monday, March 21               1:05 pm          3:05 pm          Texas Rangers                       Maryvale

Tuesday, March 22               1:05 pm          3:05 pm          San Diego Padres                  Maryvale

Wednesday, March 23                                  OFF DAY

Thursday, March 24                1:05 pm           3:05 pm           at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim  Tempe

Friday, March 25                  1:05 pm          3:05 pm          Cleveland Indians                 Maryvale

Saturday, March 26              1:05 pm          3:05 pm          Seattle Mariners                    Maryvale

Sunday, March 27                 1:05 pm          3:05 pm          Chicago White Sox                Maryvale

Monday, March 28                 1:05 pm           3:05 pm           at Oakland Athletics               Phoenix

1:05 pm           3:05 pm           at Kansas City Royals             Surprise

Tuesday, March 29                 1:05 pm           3:05 pm           at San Diego Padres                Peoria

• Home games in bold

• Note: Daylight-Savings Time begins on March 14

• All Games/Times subject to change

November 4, 2010 marks the culmination of a long baseball career for a man who has started as a player and worked his way up to one of the premier teams in Major League Baseball.  Manager Ron Roenicke has a great ring to it and shows that the Brewers are willing to look at the hidden gems of the men who have toiled and learned their craft through the system.

Introduced to the Media by Doug Melvin today, Doug mentioned that the process began from the day after the season ended, narrowed down from 8 to 4 then the right man for the Milwaukee Brewers was a tough decision but he is the “Right man for this team right now”

Joe Madden was quoted as telling Doug that Ron saw things others just don’t see in the game before they happened.”

“Over the last week my wife is on the internet and my new nick name is dark horse and #4”

This is a great opportunity for me but it is all about the players who I will get to know and get the best out of them, the focus will be on the players not on me.”

“I’m excited we have a really good club, some young pitchers, were going to work it and were going to grind it.”  Were going to get after it.”

“I am going to be honest and I am going to take care of these guy’s”

Attacking style, were going to be a running team were going to be aggressive were going to score a lot of runs being aggressive and giving the players confidence to be aggressive”

Spoke to Rick Peterson will talk to him again after this event, Pitching coach is really important to me and were hoping to make sure we can get the right players to the right coaches.”

“I’m not experienced but I’ve experienced a lot” That was the quote that in Doug Melvin’s mind that brought Ron over the top.

I don’t know any of the players.”

There is an attitude there is mo-jo and swagger that we want to win with, you have to win in many ways but you need to have that swagger.  There is a lot of ways that make an impression on folks.”

“YES” we need to upgrade our pitching, we had the 3^rd best pitching in MLB in the month of September. Stated Doug Melvin to help Ron succeed.