Lenn Sakata
The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes have their coaching staff set for the 2020 season.
Manager – Lenn Sakata
Sakata is a native of Hawaii and played college baseball at Gonzaga. He played parts of 11 major league seasons with the Brewers, Orioles, A’s and Yankees as a middle infielder and appeared in the 1983 World Series.
Sakata has managed in the San Francisco Giants, Oakland A’s, and Colorado Rockies minor league systems as well as for the farm team of the Chiba Lotte Marines.
Sakata holds the record for most managerial wins in the California League and is a member of the league’s hall of fame, as well as the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame and Gonzaga University’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Hitting Coach – Michael Brdar
Brdar played college baseball at the University of Michigan. Brdar was drafted in the 36th round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals and played one season before retiring to join Michigan as a program assistant in 2018.
For the 2019 season he was elevated to the volunteer assistant coach role for the Wolverines team that would go on to play in the College World Series, working primarily with the hitters and outfield group.
Pitching Coach – Paul Oseguera
Oseguera played college baseball at UCLA. Oseguera was drafted in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants. Oseguera pitched in parts of four minor league seasons with the Giants organization and one with the Oakland A’s, reaching Double-A.
With the Volcanoes in 2006, Oseguera posted a 2-1 record with 39 strikeouts in 29 innings of work. Oseguera also played professionally in Japan and Mexico, as well as in the Independent Atlantic League.
Fundamentals Coach – Eliezer Zambrano
Zambrano signed with the San Francisco Giants ahead of the 2006 season. Zambrano played catcher for the Giants organization in all 12 of his professional seasons and reached Triple-A. Zambrano appeared in 22 games behind the plate for the Volcanoes in 2008, the same season Buster Posey played catcher for the team. He retired in 2017 and was hired as coach in the Giants’ minor league ranks.
Strength and Conditioning Coach – Matt Jordan
Jordan begins his first year in Salem-Keizer after spending 2019 as the strength and conditioning coach for the Dominican Summer League Giants. Jordan spent three years developing athletes at the Florida Athletic Development Center prior to joining the Giants.
Trainer – Tim Vigue
Vigue returns for his second season as the athletic trainer at Salem-Keizer. Vigue graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.S. in athletic training and has a master’s degree in educational leadership technology from the University of Louisiana at Monroe.