Prospects hire new coach

The Edmonton Prospects are promising local baseball fans a “more competitive” team next season with the appointment of Ray Brown as head coach and player development manager.

After posting back-to-back six-win seasons in the Western Major Baseball League, the Prospects opted for Brown’s vast experience over youth and enthusiasm in an attempt to turn around the struggling franchise.

Brown is a longtime coach who started developing players in the Edmonton area and Alberta in the 1970s. He has also spent the last 20 years as the baseball development officer for the Oceania Region, where he established grassroots baseball organizations in the island countries of the North and South Pacific.

“Our goal is to build a WMBL championship-calibre baseball team and I know from first-hand experience that Ray Brown is the type of individual and coach that will expect nothing less from his players, the organization and himself in working toward that goal,” said Prospects owner Pat Cassidy.

“He has a track record of making everyone he associates with a better player and a better person and I couldn’t think of a better person to lead us into the 2014 season,” Cassidy continued. “He brings a worldwide network of college and professional baseball contacts and a strong local grassroots development track record to the Prospects organization.

“Ray is a ‘Mr. Baseball’ to a lot of us who played for or against his teams over the years and I can promise we will have a much different and more competitive Prospects program in place next season.”

The appointment is effective Sept. 1.

Brown pitched two no-hitters during his four-year minor league career, including the first perfect game in the Single A-calibre California League. He still holds the record for most consecutive scoreless innings in the Pioneer League.