JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Suns, the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, proudly announce that Andy Barkett will again return to Jacksonville to serve as the team's manager for the 2014 season. Rejoining Barkett will be his 2013 field staff with John Duffy as pitching coach, and hitting coach Kevin Randel and coach Rich Arena. New to the staff in 2014 is athletic trainer Cesar Roman and strength and conditioning coach Scott Smith.
"I'm looking forward to coming back for another year in Jacksonville," said Barkett. "It's been a great run the past three years. I love the people, I love the fans, the Bragan family has treated me like gold my whole time there. I'm very happy to have our staff back, we will miss last year's trainer Masa Fujimoto and strength coach Jeremy McCann but we have some good guys coming in to pick up where they left off. Jacksonville has become a home away from home for my family and I. We're excited about our team, our young players in the Marlins organization, and just the direction the Marlins organization is going as a whole."
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Barkett returns for his fourth season as Jacksonville manager and his eighth season as a skipper in Minor League Baseball. In 2013 he led the Suns to their first winning record in his tenure, with Jacksonville finishing ten games above the five hundred mark at 73-63. Barkett began his managerial career with the Tigers organization managing the Oneonta Tigers of the New York-Penn League in 2007, where he led the Tigers to the playoffs, followed by the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Florida State League from 2008-2010. As a player, Barkett spent 10 years in professional baseball with six organizations as a first baseman and outfielder, and spent part of the 2001 season in the Major Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The 2014 season of Jacksonville Suns baseball at Bragan Field will begin on April 3 as the Suns host the Huntsville Stars on Opening Night at 7:05 p.m.