Mariners name Andy Stankiewicz Minor League Field Coordinator and Carl Willis Minor League Pitching Coordinator
SEATTLE, Wash. — Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik announced today that the club has named Andy Stankiewicz the Minor League Field Coordinator and Carl Willis the Minor League Pitching Coordinator.
“We are very pleased to add Andy and Carl to our staff,” Zduriencik said. “Their diverse experience in these key player development roles will be very beneficial to our organization. I am looking forward to watching them role up their sleeves and go to work.”
Stankiewicz, 45, spent the last four seasons as an Assistant Coach at Arizona State University. During his three seasons with the Sun Devils (2007-09), he helped lead ASU to the Pac-10 championship each season and made two trips to the College World Series. Under his tutelage, ASU led the nation in Fielding percentage in 2007 and he coached 29 players who were drafted, including three first rounders.
Prior to joining the Sun Devils, he spent four seasons (2002-05) in the New York Yankees organization as the Southwest Area scout and as a coach. Stankiewicz managed the Staten Island Yankees in 2004 and 2005, including leading the Yankees to a 2005 NY-Penn League Championship in only his second year as manager. Before managing Staten Island, he spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator and roving infield instructor for all the New York Yankees Minor League teams. He also spent one season as the hitting instructor for the Gulf Coast Yankees in the Rookie League.
Stankiewicz played parts of seven seasons in the Majors over his 16 years of professional baseball, with the New York Yankees (1992-93), Houston (1994-95), Montréal (1996-97) and as an original member of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the franchise’s inaugural 1998 season. He was selected by New York in 12th-round of the 1986 MLB draft and would go on to make his Major League debut with the Yankees on April 11, 1992. A standout college infielder at the Pepperdine University, Stankiewicz still ranks in several top 10 lists on the Waves career offensive leaders, including runs scored (172), triples (9), at-bats (755), stolen bases (101) and games played (220).
Willis, 48, spent the last 13 years working as a coach in the Cleveland Indians organization, including the last seven seasons as the Major League Pitching Coach. During this tenure with the Indians the starting pitching staff consistently ranked among the best in the American League, including ranking in the top 6 in starters ERA in six of the last seven seasons. Willis also worked with CC Sabathia (2007) and Cliff Lee (2008) during their back-to-back Cy Young campaigns. Prior to being promoted to the Major League Pitching Coach, Willis spent six years a pitching coach in Cleveland’s Minor League system at various levels.
Willis pitched in the Major Leagues over parts of 12 seasons, with Detroit (1983-84), Cincinnati (1984-87), Chicago (1988-91) and Minnesota (1992-95). In nine Major League seasons, he compiled a 22-16 record with 13 saves and a 4.25 ERA in 267 games. Willis was a member of two World Series champions, including the Tigers in the 1984 World Series and the Twins in the 1991 World Series. He was drafted by Detroit in the 23rd-round of the 1983 June draft out of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. He made his Major League debut a year later on June 9, 1984 with the Tigers.
Source: Seattle Mariners/ Major League Baseball
