Coaches

George Tsamis is quite used to winning – and playing baseball well into September. His teams have advanced to the postseason in six of the 10 seasons he has managed the St. Paul Saints, including 2004 when they rallied past Schaumburg to win a thrilling five-game title series. He also managed the New Jersey Jackals to back-to-back Northern League championships in 2001-02.

The hard-driving ex-big leaguer enters the 2013 season – his 11th as manager of the Saints and 14th overall – with a 523-437 regular season record. He became the all-time winningest manager in Saints history with an 8-3 victory over the Sioux City Explorers on July 27, 2007 at Midway Stadium. The victory marked the 265th in his Saints tenure, surpassing Marty Scott's 264 wins from 1995-2000.  Tsamis earned win number 500 in his illustrious Saints career against that same Explorers club on July 21 in a 7-6 victory at Sioux City.

During the 2010 off-season, Tsamis signed a four-year extension to be the Saints manager. He also is in charge of player personnel, the same dual role he had in New Jersey, where he won a pair of Northern League post-season championships.

His formula for success is simple: "I want them to show up on time and play hard," said Tsamis. "We'll have fun. For a guy to be successful, you have to have fun playing."

There has been more fun than not in Tsamis' years on the bench as evidenced by his career regular season won-loss mark of 706-605.

Success and Tsamis were linked from an early age. In 1979, the then 12-year-old left-hander played for the Campbell, Calif., team in a 2-1 extra-inning Little League World Series championship loss to Taiwan. He was the winning pitcher the day before when Campbell won the semifinals to claim the U.S. Championship.

The next year, his family moved to Clearwater, FL where baseball continued for Tsamis and his brothers – Bill and Nick – at Countryside High School. After a standout prep career, Tsamis received a scholarship to attend Stetson University in DeLand, FL. He helped the Hatters win consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference championships and set the single-season school mark with 130 strikeouts in 1989. He was named the conference's Player of the Year, a rarity for a pitcher.

After 24 years, Tsamis still stands third on the school's all-time single season strikeout list (130) and ranks tied for 12th in conference history just ahead of ex-Saint Mike Mimbs (who recorded 126 for Mercer in 1990.). His college career complete games mark of 25 is tied for tops in conference history while his total whiff mark of 350 ranks tied for fifth in league history. He is also among the leaders in many Stetson career categories including first in school history in complete games (25), third in victories with 31 and innings pitched (391.1) and tied for third in games started with 55. His 19 strikeouts (as a freshman!) against Bethune-Cookman on April 1, 1986 is still a school record.

Tsamis was drafted in the 33rd round by the Toronto Blue Jays after his junior season at Stetson, but elected to stay for his senior season. He went 11-3 with a 2.48 ERA in 1989 and the Minnesota Twins were impressed enough to draft him in the 15th round. He spent the next two years playing for the Visalia Oaks, the Twins' Single-A club, before reaching the Triple-A level in 1991 with the Portland Beavers. After posting a 23-12 record over two seasons there, in 1993, Minnesota promoted Tsamis and he made his Major League debut April 26. Used as a reliever, Tsamis earned a win and a pair of saves with the Twins that year.

Following his nine-year professional playing career where he registered a 57-31 minor league record, Tsamis became the pitching coach of the Waterbury (Conn.) Spirit in the renamed Northeast League and was promoted to the managerial role in 1999.

He spent two years there before moving to New Jersey in 2001 where he went 107-72 in the regular season and defeated Winnipeg in the league championship series both years there.

The 42-year-old Ligtenberg last pitched professionally for the Saints in 2009 when he went 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA and 15 saves in 30 games before retiring on August 5. In 36.0 innings pitched he walked just six and struck out 29. Ligtenberg attended the University of Minnesota and began his professional career with the Minneapolis Loons of the independent North Central League in 1994 and 1995. After two impressive seasons as a starter, his manager, and former Atlanta Braves catcher Greg Olson, recommended the Braves purchase his contract. He began his tenure with the Braves organization in 1996 and it took him just one season to reach the Major Leagues in 1997. Ligtenberg capitalized on a huge opportunity in 1998 when he took over the closing duties from Mark Wohlers. Ligtenberg converted 30 of 34 save opportunities and finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting as he helped the Braves to the best record in the National League at 105-56.

After missing the entire 1999 season with a torn ligament in his elbow, Ligtenberg was tremendous for the Braves from 2000-2002. He went 8-10 with a 3.17 ERA and 13 saves during that span. After six seasons with the Braves Ligtenberg signed a one year deal with the Baltimore Orioles in 2003 and went 4-2 with a 3.34 ERA. He spent the last two seasons in the Major Leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays (2004) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2005). After spending the entire 2006 season in Triple-A Iowa with the Chicago Cubs organization he was invited to spring training with the Cincinnati Reds in 2007, but was released after just 5.1 innings pitched. He retired until making one last comeback with the Saints in 2009.

The former Park High School graduate stayed busy after that as he took over as head coach of his former high school in 2011 & 2012.

Lamarr returns for his 15th season as a coach and his 17th overall with the Saints. Prior to joining the coaching ranks, he played two seasons in St. Paul (1997-98), the majority of which was spent at second base. In his second season here, Rogers set a team record (that has since been broken) with 29 stolen bases and finished third in the Northern League batting race with a .338 mark. He was the franchise's leader in stolen bases with 49 until Brent Krause broke the mark in 2010. A professor of a sharp eye at the plate, he led the Northern League in walks in both his seasons here.

When he is not coaching first base or working with hitters, Lamarr is the Director of Athletic Development at the Saints Sports Academy in Lakeville, MN.

The St. Paul native has been around baseball nearly all of his life. This year starts his 17th season with the team, a franchise record for longevity. His father Jim, worked for the old St. Paul Saints of the American Association and was the longtime clubhouse manager for the Minnesota Twins. Jim is currently the assistant baseball coach at NCAA Division II Concordia University.

An outstanding catcher for Cretin-Derham Hall High School, T.J. served as the bullpen catcher for the Twins from 1985-96 and was on hand for the team's only two World Series victories (1987, 1991). He joined the Saints as bullpen catcher in 1997 and later was promoted to his current coaching status.

T.J. and his wife, Amy, live in St. Paul with their children, Zack, Dylan and Ethan.

The Minnesota native hails from Champlin and begins his sixth season as the team's clubhouse manager. Ed, 28, attended Champlin Park High School and graduated from Northwest Tech in Bemidji with an Associates degree in Forestry. Ed enjoys his job to its fullest, but when not at the ballpark, he enjoys, spending time at the lake and fishing.

Born and raised in the Twin Cities, Sam graduated cum laude
 from Winona State University with a bachelors degree in
 athletic training and a minor in nutrition.  He has worked with
 many sports in his young career, most recently being the
 defending national champions University of St. Thomas’
 lacrosse team.  In the offseason, Sam spends his time
 working with high schools in the metro area helping out with
 event coverage.