NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk Tides and Baltimore Orioles today announced Norfolk’s coaching staff for the 2021 season. Gary Kendall will return as Manager, Tim Gibbons will join the Tides as Hitting Coach, Kennie Steenstra will join the Tides as Pitching Coach, Ramon Sambo will return as Fundamentals Coach, Malcolm Holland will join the Tides as Development Coach, Chris Poole will return as the club’s Athletic Trainer, and Trey Wiedman joins the team as the Strength & Conditioning Coach.
“This is a fantastic group of coaches, and we’re thrilled that Gary Kendall is back in Norfolk for another season” said Tides General Manager Joe Gregory. “There is no question that the talent in the Orioles minor league system is full of exciting prospects, and we can’t wait to see the stars of tomorrow hone their skills at Harbor Park under the guidance of this exceptional coaching staff.”
Gary Kendall managed the Tides in 2019 and was slated to return to the club in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 2021 is his 22nd year in the Orioles organization and his 24th season in professional baseball. Kendall posted a 60-79 record in his first season with the Tides, leading a squad that featured an International League MVP (IF/OF Ryan Mountcastle) and the league-leader in strikeouts (LHP Keegan Akin). Prior to his time in Norfolk, Kendall spent the previous eight seasons as the manager of the Double-A Bowie Baysox, where he set the club’s franchise record with 570 wins. Kendall led the Baysox to a postseason appearance in three of his eight seasons with Bowie, including the franchise’s lone Eastern League championship during the 2015 campaign. Following the 2013 season he skippered the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League, helping lead them to the AFL championship. He’s also managed at Delmarva, Aberdeen and Bluefield in the Orioles system, amassing 962 career managerial victories over his 21-year career. Kendall is a 1982 graduate of Sparrows Point High School in Baltimore, and he went on to play baseball at the Community College of Baltimore and at Atlantic Christian College (NC), where he received his degree in 1987.
Tim Gibbons is entering his second year in the Orioles organization and his first with the Tides. Gibbons had been slated to serve as the Hitting Coach for the Double-A Bowie Baysox in 2020 before working with the Orioles at their Alternate Training Site. Prior to 2020, Gibbons had spent six seasons with Be Elite Sports Training in Florida.
Kennie Steenstra is entering his first season as Norfolk’s Pitching Coach after a three-year stint as the Pitching Coach for Double-A Bowie, where he helped lead the Baysox to franchise records in both ERA (2.17) and WHIP (1.18) in 2019. The 2021 season will be his 18th season as a coach, including his 17th in the Orioles organization. As a player, Steenstra appeared in 285 games (238 starts) over an 11-year career, a stretch that included a four-game stint with the Chicago Cubs during the 1998 campaign. He was a consensus All-American at Wichita State University, where he was named the 1991 Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year.
Ramon Sambo is entering his second season in Norfolk and his 15th season in the Orioles organization. He was chosen as a coach for the 2019 Triple-A All-Star Game, and he’s registered 283 career wins as a manager in the Baltimore and Pittsburgh minor league systems. Sambo began his coaching career in 1997 after a 10-year minor league playing career that included stints in the Phillies, Reds, Brewers, White Sox and Angels organizations.
Malcolm Holland is joining Norfolk and the Orioles organization as the Tides Development Coach. Holland, a recent graduate of the University of Arizona, played football collegiately for the Wildcats from 2015-19 after previously playing five years of Minor League Baseball in the Los Angeles Dodgers system.
Chris Poole is entering his fourth season as the Athletic Trainer for the Tides after spending the previous two years as an Assistant Athletic Trainer with the Orioles. He has been an athletic trainer in the O’s organization since 2013, having previously spent time with the GCL Orioles and Aberdeen IronBirds. Poole received his Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training from Towson University and his Master of Science degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in Exercise Physiology from William Paterson University.
Trey Wiedman is in his second season in the Orioles organization after spending the previous nine years in the Houston Astros organization. He served as a strength coach across multiple levels in the Astros system, and he worked as the Assistant Major League Strength and Conditioning Coach during his final three years in Houston.
