Windsor native manager of the year again
Windsor native Stubby Clapp has pulled off a rare Pacific Coast League feat.
The 45-year-old Clapp is manager of the triple-A Memphis Redbirds, which is the top minorleague affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.
On Tuesday, Clapp claimed his second straight manager of the year award after guiding the Redbirds to the best record in the PCL. He is just the third manager in the league’s 116-year history to claim the award in back-to-back seasons. Earlier this season, he became the fastest manager in league history to reach 100 wins by reaching the mark in just 151 games.
“It all goes back to having solid players and staff to work with,” Clapp said Tuesday. “I’ve been blessed to have both for these past two years. I’m thankful to the Cardinals for the opportunity.” A 36th-round pick by the Cardinals in the 1996 MLB draft, Clapp made it to St. Louis five years later in 2001 and played in 23 games. That was his only stint in the majors and he would spend nine seasons in the minors while appearing in over 800 games. He turned to coaching and spent four seasons with the Houston Astros organization starting in 2009. He then moved on to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013, but returned to the Cardinals in November 2016 to manage in Memphis, where he had been a player for four seasons and had his number retired by the team in 2007.
Despite nearly 200 transactions this season that saw the Redbirds field over 60 different players, Clapp managed to guide the team to an 80-53 record heading into Tuesday’s play.
Despite his rise in the managerial ranks, Clapp can look back to his playing days with the Windsor Selects to where he started to learn what it takes to be a leader from the likes of the late Rev. Ronald Cullen along with Bob Marchand. “Father Cullen demanded our best all of the time with no excuses,” Clapp said. “He was stern, but approachable with a willingness to teach if you would listen. “Him and Bobby Marchand were a great coaching tandem. Then, of course, there are the Picard brothers (Marc and Paul), both of whom demanded the same and didn’t give in until they got the best out of you.” Clapp also talks about the lessons learned from the likes of Tony La Russa, Gaylen Pitts, Ernie Whitt, Bobby Meacham, Roy Silver, Gregg Langbehn, Rodney Linares and others.
“Every day is a learning opportunity and I was always paying attention to how the game was run and how they handled situations in the clubhouse or the front office,” Clapp said.
He has already been selected to manage in the Arizona Fall League later this year, but Clapp will have to wait to see if his performance this season will get him back to the majors next season.
“I’m just going to finish this year out as good as we can and go from there,” Clapp said.