Former Field Manager and current Director of Operations gives thoughts on the season
Duluth, Minn — Tyger Pederson, Director of Operations for the Duluth Huskies Baseball Club, recently made it known that he will be coming up from Florida to visit. He will be arriving on July the 13th and staying through the 14th.
Pederson is looking forward to “coming out to check things out, chat with fans, say hi and catch up with everybody and gear up for a strong second half of the season.” In 2018, Pederson managed the Duluth Huskies to a Northwoods League Division Championship and set franchise records in runs scored and stolen bases while leading the Huskies to the playoffs for the first time in years. The team also won a franchise record 50 games en route to the Championship appearance.
As the Director of Operations, in the off season Pederson hired the new coaching staff, assisted Marcus and Stu in player recruitment, teamed up with Greg to hire the analytics team/SACH Interns and is the liaison between the front office and baseball department. Pederson maintains his relationship and dedication to the organization because he wants to “continue the Huskies legacy that we started last year and continue to put a good product out on the field. Marcus has been with me for 2 years now, and with bringing my dad (Stu Pederson) on board I want to see things through and make sure that the Huskies are in good shape.”
Last season, the Huskies and the Fon Du Lac Dock Spiders met in the championship after highly successful seasons. This season both teams sit at the bottom of their respective divisions, which speaks to how competitive the Northwoods League is and how difficult it can be to replicate the success of previous seasons. “It’s a really good league with lots of challenging teams, a lot of things have to align to have consistent success,” Pederson mentioned.
One problem that the Huskies have had to deal with this season is a large number of injuries, which can be a big problem for teams trying to compete at a high level. “Overcoming injuries has been a challenge this year. Every year injuries occur but never this many. We are excited to bring in healthy players and get back to work for the second half with a new energized team.”
He also reiterated his confidence in the coaching staff, saying that “we probably have the best coaching staff in the league, hands down. Obviously, you have to put all those pieces and perform, but I feel that we have the right pieces in place to have continued success.”
Many fans were not satisfied with how the first half of the season has gone in terms of wins and losses, to which Pederson would say “winning definitely is important. From a fan’s perspective, the 2nd half is a fresh start, and that’s how we’re looking at things from a front office and coaching staff standpoint.” He went on to rave about Marcus Pointer and his ability to work with pitchers, and his dad Stu Pederson’s wisdom as a hitting coach, as he clearly trusts them to lead this team. “Once we get some fresh arms there who are ready and excited to play ball, you can expect to see a completely different team for the 2nd half.”
The Huskies face the St. Cloud Rox tonight. First pitch is set for 6:35 pm with doors opening at 5:35 pm. Live game coverage on 92.1 The Fan and twinportssportshub.com begins at 6:25 pm. All Duluth Huskies and Northwoods League games are live streamed online at portal.stretchlive.com/nwl to watch.
Be sure to follow the Duluth Huskies on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat all season long. Check out duluthhuskies.com for tickets to upcoming games. For more in-depth news on the Huskies, be sure to follow @XtraInningsWithRyne and @JoeChatzHuskies on Facebook.
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The Duluth Huskies are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 26th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 200 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.duluthhuskies.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Huskies as your favorite team.
