New skipper to lead Miners

There will be a new boss in the dugout when the Mat-Su Miners start the 2003 season.

Chemeketa Community College assistant coach Kevin Edwards was named the Miners' manager in April.

Mat-Su general manager Pete Christopher hired Edwards following the dismissal of Girard Pineda.

Pineda was fired before even coaching a game with the Miners. Christopher felt that Pineda was not putting together a competitive roster.

"Too many people worked too hard for us to finish 19-30 again," Christopher said.

Christopher noted that the first player Pineda put on the 2003 roster was Jeff Grady, a catcher that hit less than .200 for the Miners last year.

Many of the other recruits signed by Pineda were struggling in college and one player had major surgery, something Pineda was unaware of.

"He wasn't returning phone calls," Christopher said. "He wasn't calling the coaches about the recruits."

By January Pineda had recruited 15 players, but more than half were former players at El Paso Community College, where he is a coach.

"I looked at the roster and it didn't look right," Christopher said. "He is busy at El Paso, but if he is too busy he should have not taken this job.

"He did not recruit Alaska Baseball League-worthy talent."

The problems led to the dismissal of Pineda and the arrival of Edwards.

In less than two months at the helm of Mat-Su baseball Edwards has revamped the roster, attracting talent from major baseball schools.

"Kevin called every coach of every player on the roster," Christopher said. "Some he kept, some he released.

Edwards has completed three years on the Chemeketa CC coaching staff.

While at CCC, Edwards has been the catching instructor and assistant hitting instructor. Edwards is also the team's strength and conditioning coach.

Prior to CCC, Edwards was a stand-out catcher for both Oregon State and Western Oregon. Edwards started his collegiate career at OSU, before transferring to Western Oregon.

While at Western Oregon, Edwards was named All-Cascade Conference, was a two-time team captain and led the Wolves to a pair of regional playoff berths.

Edwards had interviewed for a job with the Peninsula Oilers two years ago. This will be Edwards' first position in the ABL.

"I'm excited," Edwards said about his opportunity to manage the Mat-Su Miners. "The key to management is organization, preparation and having good people around you."