TinCaps manager Jose Valentin has had enough.He’s done talking. He’s done teaching. He’s done because his team keeps making the same mistakes, and there’s not much else to say.The TinCaps had to – in a sense – go to the bullpen when pitching coach Willie Blair got the call-up to San Diego to join the Padres staff as the bullpen coach. They were able to land a former All-Star with a no-hitter on his résumé.
Burt Hooton, who spent 15 seasons in the major leagues, was named the TinCaps’ pitching coach Monday.
“For these guys to walk into this clubhouse and have three big leaguers in there talking to them about what to do, and Burton with his background coaching amateur and professionals, I think is great,” TinCaps president Michael Nutter said.
Hooton, 62, joins a staff that already includes manager Jose Valentin and hitting coach Morgan Burkhart. Hooton played for the Chicago Cubs (1971-75), Los Angeles Dodgers (1975-84) and Texas Rangers (1985). On April 16, 1972, Hooton threw a no-hitter for the Cubs against Philadelphia. He finished his major league career with a 151-136 record and 1,491 strikeouts. In 11 career postseason games, Hooton was 6-3 with a 3.17 ERA. He was 5-1 with a 0.82 ERA in five starts for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981. Hooton was named both an All-Star and MVP of the National League championship series that season. He has plenty of experience as a coach as well, including time at the University of Texas (1997-1999) and with the Houston Astros (2000-2004). He was most recently the pitching coach for Houston’s Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City.
Notes: The TinCaps are looking to fill the following part-time, seasonal positions: bartender (must be 21 or older), cleaning /janitorial, concession cashier (must be 21 or older), cook, food runner, Kids Zone attendant, server (must be 21 or older), team store, ticket office, ticket taker, ushers, vendor and video production. Interested candidates can pick up an application at the Parkview Field administrative office or on the Fort Wayne TinCaps website (www.tincaps.com). … Parkview Field was named the top minor league baseball experience by Stadium Journey magazine.
