Dave Turgeon Pirates AA manager and Former Coordinator of InstructionsAn ISG Baseball Coach, Instructor, Teacher.

Dave Turgeon spent 13 years playing professional baseball, in at least five different countries, before becoming a minor league manager and then a college coach.

He was drafted in the 22nd round of the 1987 amateur draft by the New York Yankees. He split the year between the Oneonta Yankees (hitting .281/~.330/.343 in 48 games at third base) and the Prince William Yankees (.288/~.347/.348 in 18 games). In 1988, Turgeon was with the Fort Lauderdale Yankees and batted .254/~.325/.328 in 117 games. He fielded .925 in 76 games as their primary third baseman and .991 in 27 games at first. Surprisingly for a light hitter on a league with a DH (so that he could not bat in front of a pitcher), Turgeon tied Jeff Grotewold for the league lead in intentional walks (9). He outdrew players such as Dave Hansen (6), Jeff Conine (1), Juan Gonzalez (3), Sammy Sosa (0) and Tuffy Rhodes (4).

With the 1989 Prince William Cannons, Turgeon played mostly first base but still saw time at third. He hit .260/~.322/.338 in 121 contests. In his last year in the Yankees farm chain (1990), Dave struggled with Fort Lauderdale (.211/~.275/.259 in 98 games) and the Albany Yankees (.179/~.233/.214 in 12 games). He mostly was a utility infielder, filling in at first base, shortstop and third base for Fort Lauderdale; with Albany, he was a third baseman exclusively.

He played overseas from 1991 to 1999, during which time he was converted to pitching. He played in Holland in 1991 and France in 1992. He then moved to Taiwan in 1993 and went 11-9 with a 2.68 ERA for the China Times Eagles. The next year, Turgeon fell to 4-8, 4.02. He briefly played third base and went 0 for 1 at the plate. In 1995, Dave had a 12-6, 4.00 record for the Eagles. In his fourth season in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, the right-hander was 7-6 with 7 saves and a 3.36 ERA.

Turgeon moved to the Mexican League in 1997 and had a 9-6, 3.19 record for the Reynosa Broncos, posting a better ERA than win co-leader Elmer Dessens. Turgeon bounced around the world in 1998; in Taiwan, he was 0-3 with one save and a 9.95 ERA in 10 games for the Brother Elephants. In Mexico, he had a 7-8, 3.88 record for Reynosa. Finally, he returned to the USA for the first time in 8 seasons to go 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA in four games for the Rochester Red Wings, his only stint in a US-based AAA league.

For his final season, Turgeon pitched for Reynosa and led the team in ERA with a 3.16 mark; he was 5-5 and finished 13th in the Mexican League in ERA.

Turgeon managed the Burlington (NC) Indians in 2000 and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in 2001.

Turgeon was an assistant coach at Boston College in 2003, University of Connecticut in 2004-2005, and Duke University in 2006. He was at Virginia Tech from 2007-2010 before returning to a minor league managerial role in 2011.

Turgeon's brothers Steve Turgeon (St. Louis Cardinals) and Mike Turgeon (Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants) also played minor league ball. His nephew, Erik Turgeon, plays professional baseball as well.

Sources include: Virginia Tech website, 1987-1999 Baseball Almanacs, 1989 and 1991 Baseball Guides, Taiwanese baseball database by KT Chiu

Twitter @daveTurgeon45Items Discussed:The focus with your players in spring training?

• • • Building Player/Coach relationship
    • What does it mean when we talk about team culture?
    • Critical in the development of a player are Adapt and compete, easier said then done, how do you get it done?
    • As a manager how are responsibilities given out prior to the season?
    • How do you stay on the same page as your coaches?
    • During the season, how is the communication kept between the coaching staff so people do not step on each others toes.
    • Truth over Tradition.
    • Unprecedented times: What are you telling your players now with this time off, what to do, how to stay ready, is there a program for them? If it's a cold weather area and they are not allowed to go out?
    • Blending skill into decision making.
    • Asking players questions and making them part of the process.
    • Technology?
    • And so much more.

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