Baseball manger goes bye-bye

After just a single season as manager of the Chico Outlaws, Kory DeHaan is moving on to bigger playing fields.

The rookie manager, who actually took over halfway through last season, has been signed by the San Diego Padres as the hitting coach for the franchise’s minor league team in Peoria, Ariz.

DeHaan’s assignment will be a familiar one. When he came to Chico last season, he started as the hitting coach. That was his first professional coaching job after spending seven years on the field, including two seasons in the major leagues with San Diego.

Outlaws General Manager Curt Jacey called DeHaan one of the best “skippers” he’s worked with in 14 seasons running minor-league ball clubs. “His professionalism, intelligence and passion for the players are all at the top of the scale,” he said in a recent press release.