In his first year as manager of the Columbus Clippers, Mike Sarbaugh has taken a team that finished last in the International League West in 2009 and transformed it into a division leader in 2010.
Sarbaugh has proven to be successful as a manager at each stop along the way. Although he has been around the Cleveland Indians organization for 21 years, he has only been a manager since 2004.
As a manager, Sarbaugh has compiled a 479-336 regular-season record and a playoff record of 20-7. He won league championships with the Class A Mahoning Valley Scrappers in 2004, the Class A Kinston Indians in 2006 and the Class AA Akron Aeros in 2009.
Sarbaugh started his career in the Indians organization as a player in 1989.
“I signed originally with the Milwaukee Brewers and played a year there,” Sarbaugh said. “Then in the spring of 1990, I was traded to the Cleveland Indians for a Triple-A player. I played five more years with the Indians and then started coaching.”
Sarbaugh was named the Eastern League’s Best Managerial Prospect in 2009 by Baseball America, and was named the Eastern League’s Manager of the Year in 2009 after leading the Aeros to a league championship for the first time since 2005. His teams have never finished worse than .500 in his six years as a manager, and it looks like things will be similar with the Columbus Clippers, who are off to a 24-15 start.
“I think (it’s important) just being consistent with the message that you try to get across to the players, from the work ethic that you expect to just staying consistent,” Sarbaugh said. “They know what to expect every day they come in, and I just try to create a good atmosphere for them to be successful.”
Sarbaugh brought several of his Class AA Akron Aeros along with him to the Clippers in 2010, including top prospect Carlos Santana. The transition to Class AAA baseball has been smooth for Sarbaugh.
“I think the biggest thing is the experience of the players and where they’ve been,” Sarbaugh said. “A lot of the guys have played in the major leagues and are here now. I’m just trying to keep them motivated and wanting to get back there. It’s still baseball and you still want to try and compete and do your best, but how you treat the players might be a little different than how you would at a lower level.”
Sarbaugh gave credit to many of his mentors that have helped him to be in the position he is in and achieve the success that he has earned.
“I think my biggest mentor was my father — he was a coach,” Sarbaugh said. “Growing up, I was always around basketball, baseball, and just always knew that I wanted to be a coach. When I got with the Indians a lot of good people guided me along the way.”
