CALIFORNIA LEAGUE HEAT

The latest Portside Pod w/ Alex Jensen posted on June 26th with last year’s video coordinator Sam Given as the guest. Sam sheds light on the many nuances of the team’s preparation that relies on video as well as a few other interesting topics.

The Portside Pod looks to be an off-season thing over the last few years and this is the second one in January, with the first featuring Ports manager Gregorio Petit.

Check out Sam’s journey to working in baseball and some fascinating discussion on spin rate and other metrics:

PORTSIDE POD: EPISODE 4.2 – SAM GIVEN

Ports Fans,

We are excited to be hosting a hitting clinic for the 2024 season with former Major League All-Star and World Series Champion Cecil Fielder, taking place on July 27th and 28th at Banner Island Ballpark!

The two-day hitting clinic will be held from 9am to 12pm each day at Banner Island Ballpark where players from the current Ports roster will assist Fielder in providing individual instruction to each participant over the two days.

As part of the two-day clinic, Fielder will also be in attendance for the Ports Saturday, July 27th game against the Fresno Grizzlies throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. There will also be an autograph session during the game from the 2nd inning through the 7th inning. Autographs will be free with a ticket and attendance at the game. Tickets for the game will be released soon.

The cost of the clinic will be $200 and is for ages 8-15 with a maximum of 60 participants.

To register for the clinic, click the link below or please contact Ports Community Relations Manager, James Cole, at 209-644-1900 or email [email protected]. The slots are expected to fill up quickly for this unique opportunity.

REGISTER HERE

Press release:

STOCKTON, Calif. – The Stockton Ports are excited to announce the promotion of Chris Zavaglia to become the Assistant General Manager after spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons as the team’s Director of Baseball Communications.

Zavaglia, 26, has been with the Ports since April of 2021 when he began his tenure as a seasonal Media and Videoboard Assistant. Following the 2021 season, Zavaglia was promoted to a full-time role as a Ticket Sales and Media Executive. Prior to the 2022 season, Zavaglia was promoted to the team’s Director of Baseball Communications where he has excelled for the past two years.

“It’s an honor to receive this opportunity,” said the newly named Assistant General Manager Chris Zavaglia. “I’m excited to continue to deliver and help the Stockton Ports succeed as much as possible. It’s been an amazing three seasons here and I’m looking forward to working with my amazing staff to deliver the best entertainment possible in the San Joaquin Valley.”

Prior to joining the Ports Front Office, Zavaglia previously worked with Cal State Maritime Academy as a Sports Information Assistant, starting off as an intern in mid-2018. In June of 2020, he was hired as the media manager for the Independent Baseball Affiliate Vallejo Admirals. He has also previously served as one of the play-by-play voices for the Sacramento State Hornets baseball team, the Vallejo Admirals, and Cal Maritime basketball and soccer.

“7th Inning Stretch is delighted to honor Chris with this very well-deserved promotion to Assistant General Manager of the Stockton Ports today,” said Ports General Manager, Jordan Feneck. “Chris has proved day in and day out that he deserves this new role, and I am excited to watch him continue to flourish. He is passionate about our company and wants to see our team succeed, and I am thankful to be working alongside him.”

Zavaglia is looking forward to his next step of growth within the company and is looking forward to continuing to succeed in this new role.

“I want to thank the Stockton Ports, Jordan Feneck, Pat Filippone and the entire 7th Inning Stretch ownership for this incredible opportunity,” Zavaglia went on to add. “I am thrilled to be a part of the Stockton Ports family and look forward to continue creating exciting memories for our fans at Banner Island Ballpark.”

The Visalia Rawhide sent out a press release on January 8th with the 20204 coaching staff listed:

Diamondbacks announce Minor League coaching assignments

The Rawhide know who will be calling the shots from the dugout during the 2024 season! We will be welcoming back:

Manager: Dee Garner
Pitching Coach: Tyler Mark.

Joining the staff for their first year in Visalia are:
Hitting Coach: Brad Marcelino
Bench Coach: Jaime Del Valle
Trainer: Cat Widay
Strength and Conditioning: Wacy Crenshaw

The Rawhide will take the field for the first time in 2024 on April 9th. Individual tickets will go on sale March 5th. Membership packages are available now at RawhideBaseball.com.

The Visalia Rawhide released a statement last week addressing the facility upgrades that have been mandated by MLB for all minor league clubs. At issue is who should pay for the upgrades, the team or the city of Visalia. The two parties headed to court in November and a judge declined to make a ruling on December 22nd, stating that the lease in place did not anticipate the mandated upgrades.

On January 6th, Rawhide owner Sam Sigal asserted that the city is required to pay for the upgrades.

There is quite a bit of back-and-forth on this issue, with the city charging that team ownership agreed to MLB’s mandated facility upgrades without the city’s knowledge.

More to come.