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October 8, 2008 - LOVES PARK, Ill. – One of the top winners in Frontier League history will again manage the Rockford RiverHawks in 2009.
The RiverHawks announced Monday that Bob Koopmann will come back for a fifth season as the team’s manager. Koopmann managed the RiverHawks in 2002-04, with a Frontier League pennant in the latter year, and returned to the role in 2008. Koopmann is one of just nine managers in Frontier League history to reach the 200-win mark.
“Bob has been our manager for five of our eight years,” said Dave Ciarrachi, the team’s director of baseball operations. “That speaks for the confidence I feel in him. I feel he’s the best manager in the league. We didn’t make the playoffs and that’s not what we’re about, but you have to have the players. … He’ll be the one to get us back to the playoffs next year.”
The RiverHawks were 48-48, fourth in the West Division this season and missed the postseason for the first time since 2003. Koopmann finished the season with a career record of 200-166. He is ninth on the league’s all-time wins list.
“We have a higher standard for success here and that includes getting players signed and getting a championship,” Koopmann said. “We accomplished the first this season, but we want to do both next year.”
Pitcher Taylor Sinclair was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks and catcher Christian Rosa by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Coaches J.D. Arndt, Sam Knaack and Spiro Lempesis will return.
Koopmann is also the head coach at NCAA Division III Rockford College, which has won the Northern Athletics Conference tournament each of the last two seasons.
The RiverHawks are members of the Frontier League, a 12-team independent professional baseball league that will play its 17th season in 2009. The RiverHawks will begin their eighth season in May and host the 2009 Frontier League All-Star Game at 7:05 p.m. on July 15. Advertising and season-ticket information is available by calling (815) 885-2255. Most games are broadcast live on WNTA (1330 AM) and the internet. Fans can also visit the RiverHawks online at www.rockfordriverhawks.com.
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