Former Big Leaguer Delino DeShields Is the New Louisville Bats Manager

Former major league baseball player Delino DeShields will be the manager of the Louisville Bats in the 2015 season, the team announced Monday.

Last month, then-Bats manager Jim Riggleman was made the third base coach for the Cincinnati Reds, the Bats' major-league affiliate. Riggleman went 137-150 in two seasons in Louisville.

DeShields was the manager for the Reds' Double-A affiliate, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, for the past two seasons, according to the Bats. Pensacola went 119-159 under him. Louisville, the Reds' Triple-A affiliate, will be DeShields' fourth managerial stop in the Cincinnati system. He previously managed in Billings and Dayton.

DeShields is a former major league player. In Monday's announcement, the Bats said:
DeShields, 45, was the 12th overall draft pick by the Montreal Expos in the 1987 June draft out of Seaford High School in Seaford, Del. He made his Major League debut in 1990 and went on to play in 1,615 games with the Expos, Dodgers, Cardinals, Orioles and Cubs through 2002, mostly at second base. He finished his big league career with a .268 batting average and his 463 career stolen bases currently rank him 48th all-time.
The Bats' 2015 season begins on April 9.