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Mavericks League Announces

Managers for 2023 Season

The Mavericks Independent Baseball League announced their managers for the upcoming season.  Tony Torcato and Scott Binder will be returning at the helm for their respective teams.  Torcato, Manager of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and Binder will manage the Portland Mavericks.  AJ Johnson will takeover the helm of the Campesinos de Salem-Keizer and Corey Paul will take over managerial duties for the defending champions Salem Senators.

Tony Torcato

Returns for his 3^rd season as manager of the Volcanoes.  The Volcanoes have posted a 54-45 record under his guidance, the most wins in the history of the League.  Torcato was born in Woodland, California, and was drafted in the 1^st round, out of Woodland High School, in the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft by the San Francisco Giants.     The left-handed hitting outfielder was assigned to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes for the 1998 season appearing in 59 games, batting .291 with 3 homeruns, 2 triples and 15 doubles. 

In 1999, he was promoted to Bakersfield of the High-A California League where he again batted .291 with 4 homeruns and 25 doubles.    2000 saw Tony playing at San Jose of the California League batting .324 with 7 homeruns, and 37 doubles before being promoted to AA Shreveport of the Texas League.    In 2001, Tony was promoted to AAA Fresno of the Pacific Coast League where he batted .320.   

In 2002, after 130 games in Fresno where he batted .290 with 13 homeruns and 23 doubles, Tony made his major-league debut on July 26^th with the San Francisco Giants as a starting right fielder against the Los Angeles Dodgers and hit a single in his very first at-bat off the Dodgers Hideo Nomo.  Tony played four seasons with the Giants with a career batting average of .298.     His last Major League game was April 21, 2005.

After becoming a free agent after the 2005 season, Tony started the 2006 season in the Italian Baseball League with Grosseto, then signed with the Chicago White Sox, and was assigned to AAA Charlotte Knights.    In 2007, he signed with the Seattle Mariners, and after being released, played for the Independent League Long Beach Armada and Chico Outlaws.  In 12 professional seasons he accumulated over 4,000 at bats and over 1,100 hits.

Scott Binder

Returning for his 3rd year with the Portland Mavericks in 2023. He was an Assistant Coach during the League’s 2021 inaugural season and took over as Manager last season and led the Mavericks into the Championship game versus the Senators. While the Mavericks fell short of winning the Mavericks League Championship, Scott feels like the season was a success and will build momentum into 2023 with a large number of players set to return.

Prior to being involved with the Mavericks League, Scott led Primetime Baseball for 5 seasons as the Manager and Administrator for the travel ball club.

Scott’s baseball career has spanned 48 years as a young ball player getting started at the age of 5. After continuing baseball through High School and College as a left handed pitcher, he had the goal of getting drafted or signing as a free agent to play professional baseball. After his childhood dream didn’t become reality, he continued to play semi-pro baseball while starting his career in the fitness industry as a Personal Trainer. In 1998, he started Results Fitness Training while continuing to play semi-pro baseball but by this time, he was also asked to manage the teams that he played for. So as a Manager/Player and also a business owner, Scott continued passions in both industries that he has a love for. He retired from playing at the age of 45 and continued his focus on managing and also his business.

In 2023, Results Fitness Training will be celebrating 25 years. Scott feels blessed to be leading young men on the field for the Portland Mavericks and his clientele at his studio.

“I wish that I had the opportunity to play independent baseball when I was done with College. This opportunity wasn’t around 30 years ago. I wasn’t ready to hang up my spikes and wanted to still compete. Our players have the opportunity to continue with their childhood dreams and I want to play a part in their success and help them achieve those dreams. That’s why I’m proud to be part of the Mavericks League and leading the 2023 Portland Mavericks!”

AJ Johnson

Also returning for his 3^rd campaign with the Mavericks League – being promoted to Manager of the Campesinos de Salem-Keizer after spending two seasons as an assistant coach in the League. 

AJ started his coaching career at a Baseball Academy teaching players ranging from 8 to 18 years old.  AJ was then hired as the assistant coach/hitting coach for the Klamath Falls Gems in the Golden State Baseball League.  AJ spent his first year in the Mavericks League assisting Manager Wong with the Salem Senators. AJ moved on to be the assistant with a the Campesinos in 2022 and to finished the season as the interim head coach and led the team to a  1st round upset of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. AJ looks forward to using his strong local connections to bring in high quality players and higher quality men to play in the Mavericks League in 2023.

AJ was a very accomplished baseball player spending 4 seasons playing Varsity Baseball in High School where he earned 2 First Team All-State Awards and 3 First Team All-League Awards along with 2 All-Star appearances and 2 honorable mentions.  In 2001, he led all of 2A High School baseball with a .663 batting average.  After High School, AJ played Fall baseball at Linn Benton Community College before joining the military.  Shortly after his service he joined the Portland Independent Baseball League and played 3 seasons winning the Championship in his final season as a member of the Mid Valley Rangers.  During his playing days, Johnson competed in numerous competitive tournaments across the country in Las Vegas, Arizona and Florida.

Corey Paul

Will make his debut with the Mavericks League in 2023 as Manager of the defending Champions Salem Senators.  While new to the League, Paul is certainly not new to baseball.  Described as a Baseball World Traveler, Corey Paul has played baseball in Mexico, Taiwan, Korea, Venezuela, Japan and the United States in a career that covered parts of three decades and will now bring his expertise to Keizer and Volcanoes Stadium.

Paul’s career began in 1987 when he was drafted with the 16th Pick of the Seattle Mariners in the Amateur Draft. That summer he played alongside Ken Griffey Jr. in the outfield for the Bellingham Mariners. His playing career spanned nearly 20 years and was highlighted by three All-Star selections and winning back-to-back Triple Crowns while playing in Japan. Paul also posted impressive .326 and .348 batting averages in back-to-back seasons while playing for the Tri City Posse and Chico Heat and several years later slugged .356 in the Mexican League.

2010-2012, Corey returned to baseball as a hitting coach for the Lamigo Monkeys Baseball Club of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan. And was the Hong Kong Baseball Association Coach for Olympic Qualifiers in 2019.

After retiring from the field, Paul founded Northwestern Baseball Academy a mentorship program for high school/college-bound youth. The program instructed players from the Western United States, Canada and Taiwan on theory, strategy, technical training and mental preparation. The program, over the past 16 years, has successfully placed nearly 50 athletes in colleges. Corey trained over 100 amateur coaches for Canada’s National Coaches Certification Program and introduced baseball and life skills as a mentor to Canadian parents and players. USSSA Softball, Urban Youth Academy-Coach, Associate scout/evaluator, Professional Baseball Coach are just some of Paul’s vast experiences. In addition, Paul facilitated showcase events for Major League Baseball scouts and the MLB Scouting Bureau.

While in Taiwan, Paul facilitated and evaluated daily training routines and conducted meetings for team strategy, managed statistical data for 130 minor and major league players while maintaining direct relations with the players, coaches, and fans. He also facilitated numerous televised interviews for the Taiwan media.

Educated at Lane Community College and Portland State University, Paul’s background includes business administration, economics, psychology, and global business human resource management and is fluent in 3 languages (English, Spanish, Japanese). His community service includes the Boys and Girls Club, American Cancer Society and mentoring young adults.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Corey_Paul

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=52403

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