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K-Tribe manager heads for New Hampshire
Calls job change 'bittersweet'
By Lee Raynor, Editor
Posted: Posted: 6:10 PM EST Friday December 09, 2005 |
Kinston Indians General Manager Marty Wheeler announced today that he has accepted a similar job with the Can-Am League Nashua Pride. Wheeler's last day with the Indians will be Dec. 17.
“It's real bittersweet for me,” Wheeler said Friday. “Kinston's been great to me and my family. I'll miss working with the owners and the staff here. We've built on a lot of really good things from previous years and I won't be here to see it unfurl. But I have to do what's right for me, for my family and for my career.”
Frank Bolton, Nashua Pride principal owner, said Wheeler's past experience as an assistant general manager and a general manager with the Montreal and Cleveland organizations has prepared him for the new job.
“We anticipate him serving the Nashua community well,” Bolton said in a statement on the club's Web site. “He will bring new ideas and enthusiasm to the organization, while continuing to provide a high level of affordable family entertainment to the region.”
The Nashua (N.H.) Pride is an independent team with no major league club affiliation. The club has a shorter schedule than the Carolina League. Teams play 92 games per season.
Nashua baseball began in 1895. It has belonged to several leagues during its history and switched from the Atlantic League last year to the Canadian-American Professional Baseball Association league this year. The team came in first in the first half of last season, and was in second place during the second half.
“The league outdraws many minor league baseball clubs,” Wheeler said. “They make more in revenue and advertising than than most AAA clubs do.”
Wheeler said he wasn't job shopping when he received the offer from the Nashua club. He heard about the job from a friend and it “snowballed from there,” he said.
The K-Tribe hired Wheeler in September 2004 after the departure of former GM Clay Battin. Wheeler's first day with the Indians was Nov. 9.
He was assistant general manager for the Savannah (Ga.) Sandgnats before coming to Kinston.
A native of Mobile, Ala., Wheeler said he's looking forward to the winter in Nashua since he's a “southern boy” who has never experienced snow. The city is about 45 miles north of Boston.
“In some regards, people may think I'm letting them down,” he said. “I don't want it to be seen this way. I had full intentions up until last Friday to be here for another year or so.”
Wheeler and his wife Wendy have a 2 ½-year-old son Jack, who attends pre-school at Westminster Methodist Church. Taking Jack out of school now will be difficult, Wheeler said, because the child enjoys it so much. Changing schools when Jack is older would be even harder, he said.
The new job will give Wheeler more control over the team. He will be able to hire his players and staff independent of a major league club's decisions. The team also will have different rules and by-laws, Wheeler said.
He will travel to Nashua next week and return to Kinston to spend Christmas holidays with his family.
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