Page 24 - Chatham Anglers 2017 Yearbook

CHATHAM ANGLERS IN THE DUGOUT 2017

JOHN SCHIFFNER MANAGER
John Schiffner enters his 25th season leading the Chatham Anglers. The Cape Cod Baseball League’s longest-tenured – and winningest
– manager with 519 regular-season victories.
His career as a player and coach in the Cape Cod Baseball League began in the mid-1970s. As the manager of Chatham, he has led the
A’s, now Anglers, to 15 play-off berths, six division titles, and two league championships.
“Schiff’s” baseball network is extensive within the collegiate and professional ranks. He is a player’s manager and has always been able
to find premier talent and convince them to spend a summer in Chatham. Since 1994, Schiff has seen 21 of his former players drafted in
the first round. He has had the privilege to coach or manage more than 120 players who have gone on to play major league baseball.
From his many teams John has worked with current major leaguers including Evan Longoria, Matt Harvey, Andrew Miller, Chris Coghlan,
Rich Hill, Chris Young, David DeJesus, Danny Espinosa, Vance Worley, Chris Iannetta, David Huff, Brad Ziegler, Alex Presley, Todd Frazier,
Yan Gomes, Brad Boxberger, Shawn Tolleson, Adam Warren, Kyle Seager, and 2015 National League Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant.
John’s success as a manager is also matched by his eye for developing young coaches and scouts at the collegiate and professional level.
This impressive list includes: Matt Fincher, USC-Upstate head coach; Derek Sullivan, head coach Sacramento City CC; Chad Holbrook,
head coach South Carolina; Tyler Kincaid, pitching coach Kansas State University; Karl Nonemaker, assistant coach Old Dominion; Seth
Etherton, pitching coach University of San Francisco; Matt LaBranche, head coach Eastern Connecticut State University; Tony Lucca, Canada
JC (Calif.) head coach; Gabe Alvarez, assistant coach University of Southern California; Jon Strauss, pitching coach at Baylor University;
Jim Duffy, Manhattan College head coach; Deskaheh “Bomber” Bomberry, assistant coach Sacramento City CC; Scott Friedhom, head
coach University of North Carolina-Asheville; Travis Beausoleil, head coach Mitchell College, and Neil Lovierio, Kean College (N.J.).
At the professional level, “Schiff” has worked and influenced the development of John Schneider, minor league coach Toronto Blue
Jays; Randy Flores, Scouting Director St. Louis Cardinals; Gus Quattlebaum, assistant scouting director Boston Red Sox; Michael Holmes,
assistant scouting director Oakland A’s, and current professional scouts Kevin Reese, Matt Hyde, Jermaine Clark, Andrew Salvo, Mike
Moriarty, Tom Battista, Mike Koplove and Matt Sherman.
John recently retired as a long-time history teacher and high school baseball coach at Plainfield (CT) High School. His high school teams
were perennial favorites at state tournaments, making the tournament 31 out of his 33 years of coaching. In 2001, John was named
the District 1, Division 3, National Coach of the Year. In 2000, he was named the Connecticut High School Baseball Coach of the Year.
Upon his retirement John moved into the exclusive ranks as the sixth-winningest coach in Connecticut high school baseball history.
Fifty-five of John’s players played collegiate baseball, with four playing in the CCBL, two with Chatham. His success as a prep-school
coach will bring him induction this November into the Connecticut High School Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame.
During the 2014-15 academic year Schiff was able to realize life time dream of coaching at the Division 1 level when he was named
the Volunteer Coach at the University of Maine. He called it one of the best baseball experiences of his coaching career. He also had
the opportunity of working as an Athletic Academic Mentor in the athletic department working with athletes from the Men’s and
Women’s Swimming teams, as well as the Men’s and Women’s Track teams.
This past year John stayed home on Cape Cod as he was appointed the Assistant Director of Development for the Nauset Regional
School District.
Graduated by Providence College in 1977, he captained the baseball team and was named to the All-East baseball team during his
career. The New Jersey native also played summer ball in the CCBL for the Harwich Mariners, 1974-77.
John, his wife Martha, and their dog Bailey live in East Harwich.

22 2017 CHATHAM ANGLERS YEARBOOK