Temple University Athletics
Gordon To Spend Summer As Manager Of NYCBL's Little Falls Miners
3.12.07 | Baseball
March 12, 2007
PHILADELPHIA - Justin Gordon, the pitching coach at Temple University, has been named manager of the Little Falls Miners in the New York Collegiate Baseball League, one of the top summer baseball leagues in the country. Gordon, who played six seasons of professional baseball, is in his first season at Temple and spent two seasons as the pitching coach at Western Illinois, helping lead the Leathernecks to the Mid-Continent Conference championship game and a school-record 32 wins in 2006.
"I am honored to be offered the managerial position for the Little Falls Miners," Gordon said. "The Little Falls area is a great community with a passion for summer league baseball."
Gordon was the pitching coach for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League last summer. He coached Temple junior Arshwin Asjes at Harwich and mentored staff ace Dan Merklinger (Seton Hall) to all-Cape Cod League honors.
"I would like to thank the players, coaches, and front office of the Harwich Mariners for everything they have done for me and for supporting my decision to manage the Little Falls Miners this summer," Gordon said.
"Justin is an outstanding baseball person with a relentless passion to develop his coaching skills," Temple head coach Rob Valli said. "We are excited to have him represent Temple Baseball in such a positive way."
The Western Illinois staff tied for the league lead in saves (10) and finished second in the league in team ERA (5.27), strikeouts (360) and opponents' batting average (.287) last spring. Gordon guided junior pitcher Quinn Leath to first team All-Mid-Con honors after leading the league in ERA (2.06) and opponents batting average (.224). He went 8-2 and fanned 54 batters in 78.2 innings.
"Justin came to us very highly recommended," Little Falls general manager Hoffman Wolff said. "We've already been impressed by his knowledge of and enthusiasm for the game, and he should be a great fit for us here in Little Falls."
Gordon, 27, was drafted in the 32nd round of the 1999 Major League Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers after spending one year at Massasoit (Mass.) CC. He spent five seasons in the Brewers organization, advancing as high Class A-Advanced with the High Desert Mavericks, recording five saves and striking out 72 batters in 83.1 innings in 2003.
He went 5-5 with a 4.26 ERA in 2000 for the Ogden Raptors and was named a Pioneer League All-Star. Gordon finished his career with the North Shore Spirit in the Northeast League, going 2-2 with a 3.68 ERA, including a 2-0 record with a 0.71 ERA during the playoffs.
At Massasoit CC, Gordon hit .393 with nine home runs as a first baseman, earning First Team All-New England honors, and was drafted despite pitching only nine innings. In addition to his playing experience, the Taunton, Mass. native spent three years running an All-Star Baseball Camp for Little League players in his hometown.
