Akron Aeros Announce 2007 Coaching Staff - Class AA, Eastern League

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MLN Newswire-www.mlntherawfeed.com-AKRON -- The Akron Aeros and the Cleveland Indians announced the 2007 Akron Aeros coaching staff, released Monday. TIM BOGAR will return as manager for his second season after leading the Aeros to the Eastern League Southern Division championship. GREG HIBBARD returns to Akron after one season at Buffalo to serve as pitching coach and LEE MAY Jr. has been named as an assistant coach after serving as Manager of the Lake County Captains. Athletic trainer MIKE SALAZER will also join the Aeros staff.

Bogar will enter his fourth season as a Minor League Manager; his second with Akron and second in the Indians farm system. Last season, he guided the Aeros to the Eastern League Championship Series behind a league-best record of 87-55. For his efforts, Bogar was named the 2006 EL Manager of the Year and Baseball America recognized him as the “Best Manager Prospect” in the EL. Before arriving in Akron, he led the Lexington Legends (Houston Astros, South Atlantic League) to an 81-58 (.583) overall record and was named to the post-season All-Star squad as the top manager in the S.A.L. In his first season as a manager in 2004, he led the Greeneville Astros (Appalachian League) during their inaugural season to a 41-26 (.612) regular-season record and to the Appalachian League title. Bogar, 40, was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the eighth round of the June, 1987 draft out of Eastern Illinois University. He spent nine seasons in the Major Leagues, including four with the Mets (1993-96), four with the Houston Astros (1997-2000) and one with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2001). In 701 Major League games, he hit .228 (345-1516) with 180 R, 69 2B, 9 3B, 24 HR, 161 RBI & 13 SB.

Hibbard, 38, returns to Akron to serve in his fifth season as a pitching coach in the Indians farm system. He spent the 2006 season as the pitching coach at Class AAA Buffalo (International League), which sported the third best ERA (3.44) in the league. Hibbard was a member of the Aeros coaching staff in 2005, where he guided the pitching staff to an overall ERA of 3.40, which helped the team to win the EL Southern Division title and EL Championship. His first season with the Indians was in 2002 at Mahoning Valley. Prior to his coaching career, he played professionally for 12 seasons, including six at the Major League level after he was drafted out of Alabama in the 16^th round of the June Draft by the Kansas City Royals in 1986. Hibbard posted a career record of 57-50 with one save and a 4.05 ERA with three different organizations (Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners).

May Jr. enters his fourth season in the Indians farm system, joining in 2004 as the hitting coach at Burlington. He began the 2005 season as the hitting coach at Class A Kinston before taking over as manager at Burlington on July 17 of that year. Last season, he was the manager of Lake County (South Atlantic League), where he helped the team to a record of 64-74 in the South Atlantic League. After a 29-41 first half of the season, May turned it around to finish with a 35-33 record in the second half. USA Baseball hired him in September of 2005 to serve as hitting coach for the U.S. World Cup team that traveled to Holland. May Jr. played minor league baseball for eight years in the Mets and Royals organizations, finishing his career in 1993. He was a first-round draft pick by the Mets, 21st overall, in 1986 out of Purcell Marion High School in Cincinnati. He appeared in 621 minor league games, hitting .221 with eight homers and 166 RBI.

Salazer will begin his first season in Akron after spending the last two in Kinston. It will be his eighth overall season with the Cleveland Indians farm system. He spent 2005 and 2006 in Kinston and was with Mahoning Valley in the New York-Penn League from 2001-2003 before going to Lake County in 2004. He began his career with Cleveland as the trainer for Burlington in 2000 after previously working in the Atlanta Braves organization. Michael received his undergraduate degree in sports medicine from Manchester College, and earned his graduate degree in exercise physiology from the University of Alabama – Birmingham.