Windsor

A major league promotion for Stubby Clapp? It's 'beyond his control' for now

There are lots of rumours about Stubby Clapp's potential future as a manager for a major league team, but he won't speculate.

The manager for the Memphis Redbirds has been named the Pacific Coast League’s manager of the year

Canadian coach Richard "Stubby" Clapp is seen hitting a ball during a practice prior to the start of Canada's baseball game against Nicaragua at the Pan American Games in Toronto on Monday. (Fred Thornhill/Canadian Press)

Windsor-native Stubby Clapp just added leading the Memphis Redbirds to back-to-back Triple-A championships on his resume — potentially for a major league job.

Rumours have been flying around but Clapp said his focus is on the St. Louis team right now.

"You try and sit at the bottom of the storm and pretend it's not happening," he said.

Even though he only has a little over a month until his contract is over, Clapp said leagues interested in him can't just phone him up.

"That would be considered tampering. We take that very seriously," he said. They need to first go through St. Louis to "ask for permission."

He has been named the Pacific Coast League's manager of the year for the second time.

Even though his resume is packed with achievements, Clapp said to get a big league job still relies partly in knowing people who are confident in his ability.

"Unfortunately, you don't have numbers to back you up as the manager," he said. "I'd love to work in the big leagues, but that stuff is beyond my control right now."