Midwest League Managers

Dave Keller

One Midwest League season:

• Manager, South Bend [White Sox] (1996)

Playing Career

• Drafted/Signed: Cincinnati, 28th round (June regular phase), 1982 (First Baseman/Outfielder, University of Northern Colorado)
• Professional Career: Three seasons in the lower reaches of the Cincy farm system.
• Midwest League: Never played in the Midwest League.

Management style

Keller's career shows some interesting tactical evolution over the years. Early in his career, his teams were in perpetual motion on the basepaths and he didn't let pitchers complete games; his later teams ran more conservatively and he was more likely to let a pitcher complete what he started. (Both of these tendencies may be adaptations to the talent at hand or organizational directives, of course; the Billings teams, in particular, seem to have had great baserunners.) Throughout his managerial career he rarely issued intentional walks, and he always tended to call for lots of sac bunts.

David L. Keller

Sources

My standard sources are described here.

• 1983 Minor League Digest