Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Biscuits 2011 Staff: Gardner, Timmons, Moloney Return

MONTGOMERY, AL – The Biscuits are proud to announce that Billy Gardner, Jr. will return in 2011 for his fifth season at the helm of the Montgomery Biscuits. Gardner continues to add to his already record tenure as Biscuits manager. He passed longtime Biscuits manager, and current Durham Bulls skipper, Charlie Montoyo last season as the most tenured manager in Biscuits history.

Gardner led the Biscuits to an overall mark of 72-66 in 2010, surpassing 2009’s overall record of 65-74. Fellow returning coaches, Ozzie Timmons and Bill Moloney, will join Gardner in their respective capacities . Timmons will enter his third year as hitting coach for the Biscuits. Bill Moloney will return for his second season as the Biscuits’ pitching coach.

2011 will mark Gardner’s eighteenth season in professional baseball, and sixteenth as a minor league coach. Gardner, a native of Connecticut, boasts a career mark of 1052-1043, and a 287-269 record as manager of the Biscuits. In his debut season in Montgomery (2007) Gardner led the Biscuits to a Southern League best 81-59 record, and the Biscuits second consecutive Southern League Championship. He received Southern League Manager of the Year honors following the 2007 season. Gardner has managed 21 Biscuits who eventually made their way to the major leagues, including Evan Longoria, David Price, and Desmond Jennings.

Gardner, 44, is the son of former major leaguer Billy Gardner, Sr., who managed the Twins from 1981-1985 and the Royals for part of the 1987 season. Prior to the beginning of his tenure with Biscuits in 2007, he (Jr.) manage the Dayton Dragons (Midwest League, 2006), High Desert Mavericks (California League, 2005), Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League, 2003-4), Sarasota Reds (Florida State League, 2002), Trenton Thunder (Eastern League, 2000-1), Augusta Green Jackets (South Atlantic League, 1999), Michigan Battle Cats (Midwest League, 1997-8), Lowell Spinners (New York-Penn, 1996), and the Butte Copper Kings (Pioneer, 1995).

Timmons, 40, a native of Tampa, FL and former Rays outfielder, returns to the Biscuits for a third season, and fourth overall within the Rays organization. Timmons joined the Biscuits in 2009, after previously serving as hitting coach for the Hudson Valley Renegades (New York-Penn, 2007) and Columbus Catfish (South Atlantic League, 2006).

Timmons is a 20-year veteran of professional baseball, including sixteen as a player. Originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round of the 1991 June draft, he spent 16 seasons with the Cubs, Reds, Mariners, Rays, Braves, Diamondbacks, and Mets organizations, as well as the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Baseball League, the Mexican League and Atlantic City, of the independent Atlantic League. As a major league outfielder, Timmons posted career numbers of .235 with 20 doubles and 20 home runs in 186 games played.

Moloney, 44, enters his fifth season as a pitching coach in the Rays’ organization, and second with the Biscuits. He spent time previously with the Charlotte Stone Crabs (Florida State League, 2009) and the Columbus Catfish (South Atlantic League, 2007-8). His 25-year coaching career includes stops with the Cincinnati Reds (2001-2006) and Boston Red Sox (1995-2000). In 2002, while at Class-A Stockton, Moloney’s pitching staff led the California League with 3.20 ERA and 12 shutouts.

Moloney spent six seasons as a pitcher in the Red Sox minor league system from 1979-1984, and reached as high as Triple-A Pawtucket before suffering a significant finger injury, which ended his playing career. While playing baseball for Lowell High School in Massachusetts, Moloney posted a 1.00 ERA his senior year, which led the nation. Following his playing career, Moloney spent the subsequent eleven years as the batting practice pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He made his coaching debut in 1995 with Class-A Michigan.

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