Chad Epperson

From BR Bullpen

Chad Epperson

BR minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Catcher Chad Epperson was drafted by the New York Mets in the 40th round of the 1992 amateur draft. After a weak .165/~.257/.216 with the GCL Mets that year, he hit .342/~.430/.556 for the 1993 Kingsport Mets. He declined significantly with the 1994 St. Lucie Mets (.216/.289/.304) and did even worse the next year - .190/~.290/.289 for St. Lucie and 1 for 17 with 8 strikeouts for the Binghamton Mets. After the Mets gave up on Epperson, he went to play independent ball with the Lafayette Leopards and batted .336 and slugged .590. He made the Heartland League All-Star team at catcher and his 10 homers and 49 RBI both appear to have been second in the league.

That earned Epperson another glance from the mainstream minors. The 25-year-old was with the Boston Red Sox system in 1997, as a C/1B/DH for the Sarasota Red Sox and hitting .272/~.331/.411. He also played briefly with the Trenton Thunder that season. In 1998 Epperson spent all season with Trenton and posted a line of .253/~.321/.452 with 15 homers and 129 strikeouts. He was Trenton's primary DH that campaign.

Chad struggled in 1999, hitting .242/~.265/.364 with Sarasota and .197/~.311/.293 for the Thunder. After a .214/.267/.357 line for the Bowie Baysox (a Baltimore Orioles farm team) and a .247/?/.380 year for the Nashua Pride in 2000, he retired as a player.

Epperson quickly moved into the coaching ranks in 2001 as manager for the Cook County Cheetahs who played in the independent Frontier League. He began the 2002 campaign with the Cheetahs, but accepted a hitting coach position with the Sarasota Red Sox in early June. Epperson has worked in the Boston Red Sox organization ever since. He returned to Sarasota in the same role in 2003 before moving into a managerial position for the next several years. Epperson managed the Augusta GreenJackets in 2004, Greenville Bombers in 2005, and Wilmington Blue Rocks in 2006. He moved west for the next two years as the Lancaster JetHawks manager for the 2007-2008 campaigns. He skippered the Salem Red Sox in 2009.

Epperson spent 2010-2021 as the Red Sox' minor league catching coordinator. He returned to managing in 2022 as the leader of the Portland Sea Dogs.

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record[edit]

Year Team League Record Finish Organization Playoffs
2004 Augusta GreenJackets South Atlantic League 66-73 12th Boston Red Sox
2005 Greenville Bombers South Atlantic League 72-66 6th (t) Boston Red Sox
2006 Wilmington Blue Rocks Carolina League 67-71 4th Boston Red Sox Lost in 1st round
2007 Lancaster JetHawks California League 83-57 1st Boston Red Sox Lost in 1st round
2008 Lancaster JetHawks California League 76-64 2nd (t) Boston Red Sox Lost League Finals
2009 Salem Red Sox Carolina League 67-72 5th Boston Red Sox Lost League Finals
2022 Portland Sea Dogs Eastern League 75-63 5th Boston Red Sox Lost in 1st round
2023 Portland Sea Dogs Eastern League 73-63 4th Boston Red Sox
2024 Portland Sea Dogs Eastern League Boston Red Sox

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