Connecticut Native Back At Helm Of Yard Goats For 2022 Season

HARTFORD, CT — Southington native Chris Denorfia will be back at the helm of the Hartford Yard Goats this spring.

The baseball club, the Double-A Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, announced that Denorfia has been named manager for the 2022 season. Denorfia, who grew up in Southington, returns to the Yard Goats for a second consecutive season.

Also returning to Hartford will be hitting coach Tom Sutaris. Denorfia and Sutaris will be joined by new pitching coach and former New York Mets pitcher Blaine Beatty and new bench coach Luis Lopez. Kelsey Branstetter is returning for her second season as Yard Goats trainer and Mason Rook returns for his second season as Yard Goats Physical Performance Coach.

Denorfia, 41, played 10 years in the Major Leagues with Cincinnati (2005-06), Oakland (2008-09), San Diego (2010-14), Seattle (2014) and the Chicago Cubs (2015). The former outfielder graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford before playing at Wheaton College, where he was a NCAA Division III All-American. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 19th round in 2002.

Two players from Denorfia's 2021 Yard Goats team (RHP Ryan Feltner & RHP Julian Fernandez) reached the majors for Colorado.

"We are really excited to have Chris back for another season as our manager," Yard Goats General Manager Mike Abramson said. "It is nice to work with someone who knows our community so well, and is so supportive to our fans and partners. Chris is really the complete package and we can’t wait to get going in 2022."

Denorfia joined the Yard Goats last year after spending the 2019 season with the Cubs as quality assurance coach on manager Joe Maddon's staff. After his playing career, Denorfia joined the Cubs front office as a special assistant to the president/general manager in 2018.

In 10 seasons in the Majors, he batted .272 with 103 doubles, 17 triples, 41 home runs, 196 RBI and 56 stolen bases in 808 games. He was part of the Cubs 2015 playoff roster and appeared in all three rounds helping Chicago advance to the NLCS. Denorfia played for Italy during the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classic and batted a combined .387 in eight games across the two tournaments.

Denorfia enjoyed his best season in the majors in 2013 when he batted .279 with 21 doubles, 10 homers, and 47 RBI for the San Diego Padres, and led the club with 132 hits. He had a walk-off, pinch hit home run off Aroldis Chapman of the Reds on July 29. In June 2012, he had a career-high 12-game hitting streak. Denorfia made his MLB debut with the Reds on Sept. 7, 2005 against the Brewers.

Sutaris will begin his fifth season in the Rockies organization and his second as the Yard Goats Hitting Coach in 2022. He was the Hitting Coach at High-A Lancaster in the California League in 2018 and 2019. Sutaris was the assistant coach at the University of Incarnate Word in 2017 after serving as the special assistant for the University of Texas baseball team from 2014-2017. He played professionally in the Frontier League from 1993 through 1996 for the Ohio Valley Redcoats. The Toms River, NJ native graduated from Lynn University in 1993.

Beatty begins his first season at Hartford as the Yard Goats pitching coach and fourth season in the Rockies organization. He was the pitching coach at Triple-A Albuquerque last season and served in a similar role at Grand Junction in 2019. Prior to coming to the Rockies, he was a longtime pitching coach in the Baltimore Orioles organization from 2006-2018 and spent two seasons at Double-A Bowie. He spent three seasons in the New York Mets organization from 2003-2005 and was a pitching coach in the Pittsburgh Pirates system from 1998-2002. Beatty was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 9th round in 1986 from Baylor University in Texas. He made his Major League debut in 1989 with the New York Mets and appeared in seven MLB games from 1989-1991.

Lopez begins his first season at Hartford as the Yard Goats bench coach, and his first season with the Rockies organization. Lopez played in parts of 11 seasons in the Major Leagues with San Diego (1993-1994, 1996), New York Mets (1997-1999), Milwaukee (2000-2002), Baltimore (2002, 2004), and Cincinnati (2005). Previously, Lopez served as a hitting coach in the Boston Red Sox organization (2008-2011), was the Minor League infield coordinator for the Atlanta Braves (2012-2017) and the manager of the GCL Tigers (2018-2019). The Cidra, Puerto Rico native began his career at 17 years old in the Padres organization and played professionally from 1988-2005.

Hartford Yard Goats managers over the years are:

• 2016: Darin Everson
• 2017: Jerry Weinstein
• 2018-2019: Warren Schaeffer
• 2021-2022: Chris Denorfia

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The Yard Goats are slated to open the 2022 season on Friday, April 8 (7:05 p.m) against the New York Mets affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Yard Goats season tickets are available by calling 860-246-GOAT (4628).