Newport Gulls Coaching Staff Set to Return for 2013

The entire coaching staff from the 2012 NECBL champion Newport Gulls will be back to defend their title in 2013. Manager Mike Coombs is back for his ninth season at the helm and will be assisted by hitting coach Al Leyva and pitching coach Kevin Long for the third consecutive year. The new addition to the coaching staff for the 2013 season will be Frank Holbrook, a former Gull who joins the staff as an assistant coach. 

Mike Coombs, the winningest coach in NECBL history during the regular season since taking over as the Gulls as field manager in 2005, has compiled an impressive 226-107 career regular season record and owns a 31-15 career postseason record, leading the Gulls to three NECBL titles (2005, 2009 and 2012) during his tenure. 

In 2012, Coombs guided the Gulls to the best record in the NECBL, going 31-10 during the regular season. The Gulls went 6-1 during the postseason, sweeping the Danbury Westerners to win their fifth Fay Vincent Sr. Cup, the most collected by any franchise in league history.  

Coombs said he is excited to be at the helm once again – a position he has held for nearly a decade.

“It’s always a pleasure to come back and be the manager of the Newport Gulls,” said Coombs. “It’s a privilege. I never take it for granted.” 

“We are striving for excellence,” Coombs continued. “Every team that is in this league wants to win it all and I’ve been fortunate to be in an organization that gets great players. [General Manager] Chuck Paiva gets outstanding players, they surround me with outstanding coaches and baseball people, and it’s our job as a coaching staff and as an organization to keep everyone in the right frame of mind all summer, and that leads to success.” 

“They way people treat me in Newport is wonderful,” said Coombs. “I couldn’t ask for a better second home than Newport. I love coming back for that reason. The baseball is great, the players and coaches are great. Being a part of the Newport Gulls family is something special.”