Mets bring back Oberkfell, Bones to Buffalo
Ex-Herd skipper Collins named field coordinator of New York system
Published: November 24, 2009, 1:42 pm
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Manager Ken Oberkfell and pitching coach Ricky Bones will return to lead the Buffalo Bisons in 2010, the parent New York Mets announced Tuesday.
The moves were expected, as both Oberkfell and Bones expressed interest in returning to Buffalo at the end of last season if they did not get promoted to New York's big-league staff.
The Mets also announced that Jack Voigt will join the Herd next season as hitting coach and that trainer Brian Chicklo and strength coach Ken Coward will return for their second season with the Bisons. Voigt had been Oberkfell's hitting coach at Triple-A New Orleans in 2007 and 2008 and spent last year at Class A Brooklyn of the New York-Penn League.
Tuesday night, the Mets made another major announcement in hiring former Bisons manager and Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Terry Collins as their minor-league field coordinator. Collins, 60, will oversee all on-field aspects of minor-league spring training, mini-camps and instructional league. He will also be involved in minor league on-field operations, including instruction and evaluations.
The Bisons were just 56-87 last year and finished with the worst record in the International League as they dealt with a flurry of call-ups to New York and injuries of their own in their first season as a Mets affiliate. The Herd started the season 2-17 and never recovered.
The Mets, however, were happy with the jobs Oberkfell and Bones did as the Bisons dramatically improved in the second half, going 24-24 in one stretch that lasted through much of July and August.
Better pitching was a major reason why. The team ERA of 4.04 was 11th in the IL but much better than normal for a team 30 games under .500 and the July mark of 2.86 keyed the team's only winning month. Buffalo pitchers tossed an IL-high nine complete games and finished tied for fifth in the league with 10 shutouts.
Both Oberkfell, 53, and Bones, 40, had long careers in the major leagues. Oberkfell played 16 years as an infielder with six teams and won a World Series ring as a key member of the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals. He will be entering his 14th season as a minor-league manager, the last nine in the Mets' chain. He has led New York's Triple-A affiliate the last five years in Norfolk, New Orleans and Buffalo.
Bones will be entering his fifth year as a Mets coach. He pitched 11 seasons with seven teams and was an American League All-Star in 1994 while pitching for Milwaukee. Voigt had a seven-year career in the major leagues with four teams and has been in coaching since 2000; he was on Frank Robinson's major-league staff with Washington in 2005.
Oberkfell is currently managing Leones del Escogido in the Dominican League, a team owned by ex-Bison and longtime major leaguer Moises Alou.
Collins managed the Bisons from 1989-1991 when the team was a Pittsburgh affiliate and directed the Herd to the 1991 American Association East Division title. Collins was 246-186 in his three seasons and was inducted into the Buffalo Hall in 1992, joining the late Joe De Sa as the first modern-era inductees.
Collins was 444-434 as a manager with Houston and Anaheim from 1994-1999. He managed in Japan in 2007 and 2008 and directed China in the World Baseball Classic in March. He was the field coordinator and player development director for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2002-2006 and interviewed for the Mets' managerial job in 2004, when Willie Randolph was hired.
The Bisons open their 125th season April 8 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The home opener is April 14 against Pawtucket.
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