712.277.WINS (9467)

Familiar Names and Faces Returning to the X’s Dugout

Sioux City, IA– The Sioux City Explorers today have announced their coaching staff for the 2020 season. Led by manager, Steve Montgomery, along with pitching coach, Bobby Post with Derek Wolfe as the teams new hitting coach.

Wolfe will be entering his second season with the Explorers, as he served as the team's bench coach for the 2019 campaign. He takes over the position vacated by Matt Passerelle who had been with the team as hitting coach since the 2015 season but took the hitting coach position with the Milwaukee Milkmen for the upcoming season. 

  Wolfe was previously an assistant baseball coach for seven seasons at the University of Central Florida, the head baseball coach for four seasons at Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tenn., the head baseball coach for the Winter Park Angels and Diamond Dawgs of the Florida Collegiate Summer League and the middle school dean of students/head varsity baseball coach for five seasons at Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, Florida. Following that he was the head coach at Seminole High School for four years.

  Wolfe had 18 players sign professional MLB contracts as an assistant coach at UCF. As an assistant at UCF, Wolfe served in various coaching positions including, assistant recruiting coordinator, hitting coach, third base coach and outfielders coach.

  He was also named the FCSL Coach of the Year in 2005 and guided the Winter Park Angels to a FCSL Championship in 2014. At Trinity Prep, Wolfe won two District Championships, named the Coach of the Year by his peers in 2012, had 22 players commit to Division I programs and one drafted by an MLB team, and co-authored the book Coaching Revolution - A Philosophy and Game Plan.

Post returns for what will be his ninth season as pitching coach of the Sioux City Explorers. He was part of the staff during the 2009 and 2010 seasons under then manager Les Lancaster and has been Steve Montgomery’s right hand man since the skipper was brought on board in 2014. 

Bobby is a native of Victorville, California and played at Cerritos Junior College (CA) and finished his college career at the University of Nevada-Reno where he was 18-5 for two seasons with the Wolf Pack. After his college career, Post spent seven years in professional baseball with an overall record of 52-16 with 20 saves. His professional playing career carried him to Taiwan with stops in Sioux Falls and Sioux City in the Northern League.

 During his time in Sioux City, Post had a record of 17-12 in 53 games, with 157 strikeouts and a 4.80 ERA.He ranks 5th in Explorers franchise history in innings pitched (318 2/3) and batters faced (1,365). He also holds the record for most starts in a single season with 22 in 1998.

In 2015 Post’s pitching staff set league records in team earned run average (3.04), earned runs allowed (301), runs allowed (304), hits allowed (750) and opponents’ batting average (.228). 

Last season X’s pitching was fourth in the league in ERA (4.09), third in strikeouts (854) and led the league in opponents batting average (.247) and shut outs (3). 

Montgomery has been the ringleader of what is the most successful decade in Explorers franchise history. Now entering his seventh season at the helm he holds a 350-250 (.583) career record. In the six seasons that Montgomery has been manager the team has made it to the postseason four times. Matching the four times the team had been to the playoffs in the 21 seasons prior to Montgomery’s arrival. 

Steve has not only been successful in racking up wins he has also been able to provide players with the goal they have in mind when coming to independent baseball and that is to get them back to a major league organization. During his time in Sioux City he has seen 27 players signed by a major league club. And what’s more, three of those players; Parker Markel, Tayler Scott and Ryan Court all made their major league debuts during the 2019 season. 

In 2015, Montgomery was tabbed the American Association Field Manager of the year after compiling a record of 75 wins to just 25 losses, good for a .750 winning percentage. The X’s 75 wins and .750 winning percentage are both American Association League Records. In 2018 he led his team to a 71-29 record making it only the fourth time in league history that a team has won over 70 games in a season, with the Explorers under Montgomery’s tutelage accomplishing it twice. 

Montgomery’s professional playing career began in 1993 when he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Kansas City Royals. He played with the Kansas City Royals Gulf Coast League team in Fort Meyers, FL during the 1994 season before signing with the Johnstown Steel of the Independent Frontier League in 1995. Steve appeared in 33 games with the Steel and finished the year with a 0.00 ERA and 9 saves in 38.2 innings. For his efforts, he was signed by the Baltimore Orioles organization and spent the 1996 season in High Desert before playing with the Orioles AA and AAA affiliates in 1997. After two more minor league seasons with the Dodgers and Red Sox affiliates, Montgomery finished his playing career with the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks from 2001-2003, where he was the team’s all-time save leader (47).

The Sioux City Explorers 28th season in Siouxland will begin on May 19th at the Kansas City T-Bones. The X’s open up their home schedule on May 26th against the Sioux Falls Canaries. Season tickets, flex tickets, group tickets and luxury suites are now for sale for all 50 Explorers home games for the 2020 season. Simply call (712) 277-WINS (9467) to order your ticket package today.