Terry Francona to serve as honorary Manager for USA Baseball Prospect Classic

Press Release USA Baseball

Former Boston Red Sox skipper and two-time World Series champion among several award-winning players and coaches highlighting the event

DURHAM, N.C. — Two-time World Series winning manager Terry Francona will headline a group of five players, coaches and USA Baseball alumni scheduled to participate in the Prospect Classic, set for June 29-30, and July 2-3, in Durham and Cary, N.C.  Francona managed the Boston Red Sox from 2004-11, and he led his club to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.

Francona will serve as an honorary manager during the Prospect Classic and will be making his first appearance in the red, white and blue since managing USA Baseball’s 2001 World Cup Team.  The club of professional, Minor League players, which featured the likes of future big league All-Stars Carl Crawford and Orlando Hudson, lost to Cuba, 5-3, in the gold medal game in Tapei, Taiwan.  Francona, who also managed the Philadelphia Phillies from 1997-2000, competed on the 1978 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team as well, suiting up for the U.S. at the Italy Cup, and he took home the 1979 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s top amateur player.

Joining Francona will be four other Major League Baseball and USA Baseball award-winning players and managers.  In total, the group owns eight World Series rings, a Cy Young Award, a Gold Glove, six All-Star Game appearances, two Manager of the Year Awards, a Golden Spikes Award, and two World Series MVPs.  Here is brief snapshot of the attendees:

Scott Brosius: 2012 18U National Team manager…Made USA Baseball debut in 2011, leading the 18U National Team to Pan Am gold in Colombia…Current manager for the Linfield College (Ore.) baseball team…11-year big league career (Oakland Athletics [1991-97], New York Yankees [1998–2001])…Three-time World Series champion with the Yankees (1998-2000)…1998 World Series MVP…1998 All-Star Game…1999 Gold Glove Award.

David Eckstein: Will serve as a coach in the Prospect Classic…Will make his debut in a USA Baseball uniform…10-year big league career (Anaheim Angels [2001-04], St. Louis Cardinals [2005-07], Toronto Blue Jays [2008], Arizona Diamondbacks [2008], San Diego Padres [2009-10])…Two-time World Series champion with the Angels and Cardinals (2002, 2006)…2006 World Series MVP…2005-06 All-Star Games.

Terry Francona: Will serve as an honorary manager in the Prospect Classic…Competed on the 1978 Collegiate National Team…1979 Golden Spikes Award…Managed the 2001 World Cup Team…1980 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award…10-year big league career as a player (Montreal Expos [1981-85], Chicago Cubs [1986], Cincinnati Reds [1987], Cleveland Indians [1988], Milwaukee Brewers [1989-90])…12-year big league career as a manager (Philadelphia Phillies [1997-2000], Boston Red Sox [2004-11])…Two-time World Series champion with the Red Sox (2004, 2007).

Jack McDowell: Will serve as a coach in the Prospect Classic…Member of the 1984 18U National Team and the 1985 Collegiate National Team…13-year big league career (Chicago White Sox [1987-94], New York Yankees [1995], Cleveland Indians [1996-97], Anaheim Angels [1998-99])…1993 American League Cy Young Award…1991-93 All-Star Games.

Jack McKeon: Will serve as an honorary manager in the Prospect Classic, opposite Francona…Served as a one-game fill-in manager for the 2009 Collegiate National Team…16-year big league career as a manager (Kansas City Royals [1973-75], Oakland Athletics [1977-78], San Diego Padres [1988-90], Cincinnati Reds [1997-2000], Florida Marlins [2003-05, 2011])…General manager of the San Diego Padres (1981-90)…World Series champion with the Florida Marlins (2003)…1999 and 2003 National League Manager of the Year Awards.

The USA Baseball Prospect Classic features the organization’s Collegiate and 18U National Teams, and presents fans and members of the baseball community with a one-of-a-kind opportunity to see the top prospects for upcoming MLB First-Year Player Drafts on the field at the same time.  New for 2012, the event is expanding from two to four games, with Games 1-2 featuring “Stars” and “Stripes” teams, each made up of a combination of Collegiate and 18U players as drafted by a USA Baseball selection committee.  Rosters for the first two games, featuring a total of 62 players, will be announced on the morning of June 29.  Games 3-4 will pit the 22-man Collegiate National Team against the 28-man 18U team in a model similar to the inaugural event in 2011.  As in 2011, the Prospect Classic will serve as part of the selection process for the 18U team, which will cut down from 40 to 28 players on July 1.

The series will be held June 29, at 3:05 p.m., June 30, at 7:05 p.m., and July 3, at 6:05 p.m. at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP) in Durham, and on July 2 at 7:05 p.m. at the USA Baseball National Training Complex (NTC) in Cary.

Games 1-2 will each air on a delay, at 12 p.m. ET, July 2-3, on MLB Network.  Fans are encouraged to check MLBNetwork.com for their local channel listings.  The coverage furthers USA Baseball’s presence on MLB Network, which includes exposure of USA Baseball alumni during MLB Network’s telecast of the MLB First-Year Player Draft and the live presentation of the Golden Spikes Award.  Additionally, all Durham games will be broadcast live online at USABaseball.com and MLB.com.  USA Baseball partnered with Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) in 2006 to develop and launch USABaseball.com, a premier online presence for its news, scores, video highlights, and more.

The 2012 Collegiate National Team will be led by Tennessee skipper Dave Serrano, while Brosius returns to head the 18U club for the second summer in a row.  Prominent alums from the 18U National Team program now in the big leagues include Joe Mauer (2000), B.J. Upton (2001), Buster Posey (2004), Justin Upton (2004), Clayton Kershaw (2005), and Bryce Harper (2009), while Ryan Howard (2000), Mark Teixeira (2000), Dustin Pedroia (2002-03), Justin Verlander (2003), Troy Tulowitzki (2004), David Price (2005), and Stephen Strasburg (2008) are among the Collegiate team alumni starring professionally.

Additional information on the event, including daily schedules, ticket information, videos, and more can be found online at www.USABaseball.com/ProspectClassic.

About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Baseball Federation (IBAF).  The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, World Cup and Pan American teams (and all other USA Baseball professional teams); and the Collegiate, 18U, 15U, and Women’s National Teams, all of which participate in various domestic and international competitions each year.  USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country.  For more information, please visit USABaseball.com and GoldenSpikesAward.com.