Ken Joyce
Kenneth Joyce
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 240 lb.
- School University of Southern Maine
- High School Deering High School
- Born October 28, 1964 in Portland, ME USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Ken Joyce attended the University of Southern Maine and graduated in 1987 with degrees in History and Education. During his career he hit .356 in his 136-game tenure as a Huskie and played in the 1985 NAIA College World Series. Joyce set an NCAA record with 7 hits in 8 AB's vs. Concordia College in a Regional Tournament in 1985. Joyce then served as an assistant coach for USM from 1988-1991 and helped lead the Huskies to the the 1989 Division III College World Series. He was elected to the University of Southern Maine Hall of Fame in 1998 and into the State of Maine Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.
After two years of teaching middle school physical education classes, in 1994 Joyce hooked up with the Portland Sea Dogs as a volunteer bullpen catcher. He gradually gained some coaching responsibilities as well and continued in this role until the middle of 1996. Joyce took over as the Sea Dogs hitting coach on July 7th after the Florida Marlins promoted Jeff Pentland to the major league team. In 1997, he was the hitting coach of the Utica Blue Sox of the New York-Penn League, also in the Marlins' organization. Joyce became a manager with the Blue Sox in 1998 and 1999. The Marlins released him after the 1999 season.
In the spring of 2000 Joyce served as the interim head coach for the New England College Pilgrims. During the summer of 2000 he worked as the pitching coach for the Catskill Cougars of the independent Northern League East. In 2001 Joyce took over as the manager of the Adirondack Lumberjacks on July 3rd, replacing player/manager Darryl Motley.
From 2002 through 2009 Joyce worked in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He was the hitting coach for the Medicine Hat Blue Jays of the Pioneer League in 2002, then became hitting coach for the AA New Haven Ravens who led the Eastern League in hitting for the 2003 season. In 2004, Joyce managed the Charleston AlleyCats and was named the South Atlantic League North Division Manager for the league's All-Star Game. The next two seasons he managed the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League. Joyce spent 2007 and 2008 as the hitting coach for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Eastern League, then was named as hitting coach for the AAA Las Vegas 51s. That team led the Pacific Coast League in hitting for the 2009 season.
The San Francisco Giants hired Joyce as the AAA Fresno Grizzlies hitting coach in 2010. He was then assigned as the hitting coach for the Richmond Flying Squirrels in the Eastern League from 2011-2015 including a stint as the hitting coach for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League in 2011. Joyce was scheduled to return to Richmond in 2016, but resigned shortly before the beginning of the season to spend more time with his family. He was replaced by Andy Skeels.
He then moved to the New York Yankees' chain as hitting coach of the Charleston RiverDogs in 2017 and Staten Island Yankees in 2018-2019. Following the 2019 season he worked as the hitting coach for the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League. He was scheduled to be the hitting coach for the Trenton Thunder in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Joyce was hitting coach of the Atlantic League West Virginia Power in 2021. Midway through the season the team changed its name to the Charleston Dirty Birds. Reports indicate that Joyce and pitching coach Paul Menhart both left the team in early September, whether willingly or unwillingly is unclear.
Joyce moved to the Milwaukee Brewers' organization as hitting coach of the Carolina Mudcats in 2022 and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in 2023-2024.
Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record[edit]
Year | Team | League | Record | Finish | Organization | Playoffs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | Utica Blue Sox | New York-Penn League | 35-41 | 9th (t) | Florida Marlins | |
1999 | Utica Blue Sox | New York-Penn League | 42-33 | 2nd | Florida Marlins | Lost in 1st round |
2001 | Adirondack Lumberjacks | Northern League East | 26-28 | 6th | Independent Leagues | |
2004 | Charleston AlleyCats | South Atlantic League | 84-56 | 3rd | Toronto Blue Jays | Lost in 1st round |
2005 | Lansing Lugnuts | Midwest League | 70-69 | 7th | Toronto Blue Jays | |
2006 | Lansing Lugnuts | Midwest League | 72-65 | 7th | Toronto Blue Jays | Lost in 2nd round |
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