Stanley Gene Cliburn (born December 19, 1956) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player and current manager of the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. He was previous the manager of the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connectic ...

and the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

, the Triple-A affiliate of the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

, from 2006 to 2009. Cliburn has also managed in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

and at other levels in the minor leagues. He is the twin brother of former Major League

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Stu Cliburn, who remains a coach in the Twins' farm system. Cliburn was most recently the manager of the

of the Atlantic League, an independent baseball league.

Playing career

Cliburn played one season in the majors with the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

in 1980 during which he appeared in 54 games at catcher, but he would play in over 948 minor league games during his fourteen-year playing career.

Coaching career

After his playing career ended Cliburn was hired as a manager for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

New York-Penn League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

team, and he spent the next 12 seasons managing in the Pirates system, the Texas Rangers system, and for the

Alexandria Aces The Alexandria Aces were a baseball team based in Alexandria, Louisiana. The last version of the Aces played in the United League Baseball in 2013. The Aces have played their home games at historic Bringhurst Field, which was built in 1933 for the ...

of the independent

Texas-Louisiana League The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas–Louisiana League, was a independent baseball league whose member teams were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron P ...

. From to , Cliburn was the manager of the

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado Rockies for one. They playe ...

, the Double-A affiliate of the

. His pitching coach at New Britain for those five seasons was his twin brother Stu Cliburn. On October 18, 2005, Stan Cliburn was named as manager of the

, the Triple-A affiliate of the Twins. Initially, it was believed that Stu would not be promoted along with Stan; however, both were promoted to Rochester for the season. In his first season at the helm in Rochester, Cliburn guided the Wings to a 79–64 record and came within one game of winning the Governors' Cup, the championship of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. The 2006 season proved to be the most successful of Cliburn's tenure in Rochester. The team's record declined in each successive season following the playoff run, eventually falling to 70–74 in . Additionally, following the season, Stan was separated from Stu for the first time in eight years as Stu was reassigned to New Britain for 2009. On September 21, 2009, the Minnesota Twins announced that they would not renew manager Stan Cliburn's contract for the 2010 season. According to Twins farm director

Jim Rantz James John Rantz (born February 24, 1938, at Saint Paul, Minnesota) is an American former professional baseball baseball player, player and executive. He was the Minnesota Twins' farm system director from –, holding the title of "Director of mino ...

, the change was made as part of an "overall directional change that is being implemented throughout the minor-league system." After having success managing in the

Cliburn was hired as the manager for the

Sioux City Explorers The Sioux City Explorers are a professional minor league baseball team based in Sioux City, Iowa, in the United States. The Explorers are members American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Si ...

of the independent

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

where he served as manager for three seasons; he was let go by the Explorers following a disappointing season by the team in which they finished 38-62 and Cliburn was cited for a DUI in September 2013. Cliburn returned to managing in 2015 when he became the manager of the

of the independent Atlantic League. On December 15, 2015, Cliburn returned to New Britain as the first manager of the new Atlantic League team the

after the departure of the

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

-affiliated Rock Cats.

Personal life

Cliburn's twin brother,

Stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and ...

, also played in the major leagues.

References

External links

RetrosheetVenezuelan Professional Baseball League

Stan Cliburn
at

SABR The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

(Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cliburn, Stan 1956 births Living people Alexandria Aces players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Mississippi Bradenton Explorers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players California Angels players Daytona Beach Explorers players Edmonton Trappers players El Paso Diablos players Hawaii Islanders players Idaho Falls Angels players Leones del Caracas players Lynn Pirates (1983) players Major League Baseball catchers Minor league baseball managers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Portland Beavers players Quad Cities Angels players Richmond Braves players Rochester Red Wings managers Salinas Angels players Salt Lake City Gulls players Twin sportspeople New Britain Bees