WILLMAR, MN – The Willmar Stingers are excited to announce that former major league veteran Terry Steinbach will join the coaching staff this season. Steinbach, a Minnesota native, will serve as a hitting instructor and bench coach for the Stingers in their seventh season.  

Steinbach will appear at roughly a dozen games throughout the summer, working primarily with the position players, providing extra insight on the game. Steinbach has coached various levels of baseball throughout the years, with the most recent position as the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins.

Steinbach returned back to the major leagues after a 14-year career and spent two years with the Twins under the leadership of Ron Gardenhire in 2013 and 2014.

His coaching experience for the Stingers will prove to be immeasurable as a former college player, summer collegiate player, Minor League player, World Series Champion, Major League All-Star and Major League Coach.

“We are thrilled to have Terry be a part of the organization this summer,” co-owner Ryan Voz said. “This is will be an unbelievable experience for our players being able to learn from someone of this caliber.”

Steinbach has noted that his primary role this summer will be to help the players elevate their potential, hopefully helping them get to the next level.   

“Terry had a great major league career and I think this is a way he sees giving back to the game that gave him so much during his 14 plus years.” Voz said.

Steinbach is a native of New Ulm, MN, who attended the University of Minnesota. He primarily played third base for the Gophers and was named the 1983 Big Ten Player of the Year. He eventually was drafted by the Oakland A’s in the ninth-round of the amateur draft that same year and appeared in a major league game just three years later. In his first at-bat he homered for the Athletics, which was the start to a great career.   

Steinbach became the Athletics starting catcher early in his career and was the consistent catcher for the A’s for the next 10 years. He eventually come back home to end this career playing for the Twins from 1997-1999. He ended with a career appearing in 1,546 games, hit 162 home runs, batted in 745 runs and had a career .271 batting average.  

Steinbach will join manager Matt Passauer, Nate Johnson, Rob Swendra and Zach Stuart this season as the Stingers hope to get back to the post-season.

He will be on hand to throw out the first pitch and sign autographs on Tuesday, May 31^st as the Stingers face the Duluth Huskies at Bill Taunton Stadium. The 2016 Home Opener is presented by Marcus Construction and all fans will be treated to a post-game fireworks extravaganza.  

Field Manager Matt Passauer, as well as the Stingers organization, will continue to build the roster for the 2016 season as the off season continues. Season tickets for the 2016 season are currently on sale. For more information regarding this press release please contact the Willmar Stingers front office at 320-222-2010 or visit www.willmarstingers.com.

The 2016 season is presented by Marcus Construction. “From start to finish we’ll make your job easier and build a facility you will be proud of.”

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The Willmar Stingers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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 140 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.willmarstingers.com.