Indians: Former player Coco Crisp to manage former Tribe minor league team

Coco Crisp was one of those names that people often forget about when discussing former fan favorite players. He was part of that revival squad that won 93 games in 2005, before most of them went on to the ALCS in 2007, losing to the Red Sox after holding a 3-1 lead. Crips was on that Red Sox team, having been traded to Boston after the ’05 season.

The Red Sox sent over Andy Marte, Guillermo Mota, Kelly Shoppach, and Randy Newsome over to Cleveland in exchange for Crisp, Josh Bard, and David Riske.

Before the trade, Crisp became an everyday outfielder for the Tribe in 2004 and was a near .300 hitter for both of those years. He was the Tribes leadoff man most games and had a unique batting stance that saw him twist his neck just enough to be able to put his chin on his shoulder. The stance was so unique and his play so solid, that fans embraced the outfielder. It didn’t hurt that he had a unique name either.

Eventually, though Crisp would play his ay through the Majors and would end up back on the Indians in his final crop of games in 2016. While no longer the .300 hitter he was a decade prior, Crisp still brought value to the Tribe in that playoff run, hitting .400 against Toronto in the ALCS and .333 in the World Series against the Cubs.

Now, Crisp is retired from the game but isn’t leaving it behind. The former Indians outfielder is going to manage the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, who were once a minor league affiliate for the Indians.

The Scrappers went from the Indians Single-A affiliate to part of the new MLB Draft League. The League will feature the Scrappers, and five other teams; State College Spikes, West Virginia Black Bears, Williamsport Crosscutters, Trenton Thunder, and Frederick Keys.

The league is going to focus on the top players coming out for the MLB Draft. The season will consist of 68 games, half away and half at home, with the inaugural season starting on May 24. The hope behind this league is to give prospects a bigger profile for scouts to evaluate them. No doubt that there will also be more buzz around these prospects as well, which may see more fans tune in to the MLB Draft.