DURHAM, N.C.- The American Association has announced that longtime Gary ShouthShore RailCats manager Greg Tagert (pictured) has been recognized as the league’s 2016 Manager of the Year. The vote was conducted among league field managers and media representatives from all 12 clubs.
Tagert has led a RailCats team that currently sits 51-47, just a game back of the Sioux City Explorers for first place in the American Association Central Division with two games to play.
After losing 10 of 12 games from August 4-16, Tagert’s RailCats have caught fire. Starting with the second game of an August 16 doubleheader, Gary SouthShore won 10 of 11 games to vault themselves right into the thick of the playoff hunt.
Tagert is in his 12th season at the helm of the RailCats. He arrived in Gary in 2005 when the club was a member of the Northern League, and won a pair of league titles in his first three seasons. The RailCats brought home the league crown in 2005 and 2007, and Tagert guided the team to runner-up finishes in 2006, 2008 and 2009. The RailCats returned to the pinnacle of their league in 2013 with their first American Association championship, when the team defeated the Wichita Wingnuts three games to one in the championship series.
The Vacaville, Calif. native is in his 22nd year overall as an Independent Baseball manager, having logged stints in the Frontier and Prairie Leagues prior to coming to Gary. He took Evansville and Dubois County to six consecutive Frontier League playoffs from 1997-2002.
Tagert has also logged stops as a scout for the Detroit Tigers in 1993 and 1994 along with serving as pitching coach for the University of New Mexico in 1988.
The RailCats play at home today at 2:10 p.m. Central time against the Joplin Blasters. The game can be seen live and for free at www.americanassociationbaseball.tv.
