Joe Marker, Director of Baseball Operations
Marker
has founded clinics and worked in the baseball camp industry for nearly 25
years. He is in his sixth season with Midwest Baseball Academy. In
addition to program development, he is the liaison to each Site Director
and is responsible for maintaining quality control at each location
nationwide. Marker has spent eight years as a professional scout with the
New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds and has amassed more than 750 wins as
a high school and American Legion coach in Greenville, Ohio. As a high
school and Legion coach, Marker has sent 88 athletes to play Division I
college baseball, and has had ten players drafted by professional
teams.
Paul O'Neill
Paul
O'Neill broke into the major leagues with the Cincinnati Reds in 1985. He
was a member of their 1990 World Championship team. However, the strongest
points in his career came as a member of the New York Yankees, he played
in six World Series, winning five world championships, was a 5-time
All-Star, won the American League batting title in 1994 and is the first
Yankee since Mickey Mantle (1952-62) to hit 18 or more homeruns in nine
consecutive seasons. In nine seasons with the Yankees, he hit 185
homeruns and 858 RBIs while hitting over .300 six times and currently
serves as a color analyst for the New York Yankees
network.
Rob Dibble
Dibble
was one of the most dominant pitchers during his brief major league
career. He was one third of the trio known as the "Nasty Boys," winning
the MVP of the World Series with the Cincinnati Reds in 1990. He played
just seven seasons because of injuries, five with the Reds and one each
with the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox. For his career he saved
89 games with a 2.89 earned run average. He became an All-Star in 1990 and
'91 and currently serves as a baseball analyst for ESPN
television.
Jeff Shaw
Jeff
Shaw began his career with the Cleveland Indians in 1990. After years of
middle relief, Shaw became one of the game's best closers in 1997 with the
Cincinnati Reds, closing 42 games. He began the '98 season with the Reds
before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He saved 48 games total in
'98 and went on to save 104 games over his last three seasons with the
Dodgers. For his career, he saved 203 games with an earned run average of
3.55, becoming an All-Star in '98 and '01 and currently serves as a high
school pitching coach at Washington Court House.
Joe Oliver
Oliver
began his career with the Cincinnati Reds and played an integral part in
their 1990 World Series championship victory. Oliver played thirteen
seasons in the majors, eight with the Reds. He also played for the
Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates
and Boston Red Sox. He played in nearly 1,100 games for his career,
hitting 102 homeruns and nearly 500 RBIs. He had his best season in 1992
when he hit .270 with 10 homeruns and 57 RBIs and currently owns and
operates a youth baseball academy in Orlando, FL.
Tom Browning
Browning
broke into the majors in a big way, winning 20 games in 1985 while losing
just 9. He became the first rookie to win 20 games since 1954, a feat that
included 11 straight victories. Browning went 106-75 over the next seven
seasons, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a World Series championship in
1990. His most memorable moment occurred in 1988 when he pitched a perfect
game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 16. In major league
history, there have been just 16 perfect games. Browning finished his
career 123-90 with an earned run average of 3.94 as one of the best
pitchers in Reds history and serves as a pitching coach for the Billings
Mustangs (A) in the Cincinnati Reds organization.
Jeff Davenport
Davenport
spent the majority of his career as a bullpen catcher, signing on with the
Boston Red Sox in 1994 as a non-drafted free agent. He played in the Red
Sox farm system for several years before leaving to coach with the Arizona
Diamondbacks. He also served as a bullpen catcher for the Chicago Cubs in
1999 and currently serves as the traveling secretary and clubhouse manager
for the Kansas City Royals.
Jeff Branson
Branson
broke into the major leagues in 1992 with the Cincinnati Reds. He had his
best season as a regular in 1995 where he played in 122 games and hit .260
while belting 12 homeruns and 45 RBIs. For his career, he played in 694
games while hitting near .250. Branson also played for the Cleveland
Indians and the Los Angeles Dodgers and currently serves as the Manager of
the Lynchburg Hillcats (A) in the Pittsburgh Pirates
organization.
Kevin Jarvis
Jarvis
began his career in 1994 with the Reds but his best years came as a member
of the San Diego Padres. In 1994, he led the Padres with 12 wins, with 11
losses and an earned run average of 4.80. Jarvis began the 2004 season
with the Seattle Mariners before parting ways with the team early in the
season. During his career, he has started 114 games and is currently
playing in Japan.
Brandon Webb
Webb
is entering his sixth major league season as the ace of the pitching staff
for the Diamondbacks and has already established himself as one of the
elite pitchers in the game. He has won 87 games in his career including a
career high 22 wins this season. Webb won the Cy Young award in 2006 and
was runner-up in 2005 and 2007. Webb has showed his durability in pitching
over 200 plus innings for the fifth straight season. He ranks among the
leagues best's in innings pitched, strikeouts, quality starts, wins,
shutouts, complete games and opponents batting average and with the post
season awards for 2008 yet to be announced, it's a sure bet he will take
home the Cy Young award once again.
Brian Dorsett
Dorsett
played eight seasons in the major leagues, breaking in with the Cleveland
Indians in 1987. Dorsett played in 163 games during his career with 92
hits in 411 at bats. A solid catcher, Dorsett made just 4 errors in 134
games and currently own and operates a Mitsubishi dealership in Terre
Haute, IN.
Local Coaches
We
have worked for 20 years developing a top-notch instructional program, but
we all recognize a baseball academy is only as good as the coaches who
implement it. That's why each year Midwest Baseball Academy's Site
Directors search for the best available high school and college coaches in
their area, people who not only are qualified baseball instructors, but
who also enjoy working with young players. We don't waste your money by
paying a major-leaguer $3,000 to come lecture and sign autographs for an
hour. We load up on the best baseball teachers we can find and maintain a
5:1 or 6:1 player-coach ratio. As each Site Director selects his staff, we
require that all instructors be current or former coaches at the high
school or college level. We will be building our staff at each location as
the registrations come in and finalize it a few weeks before the beginning
of camp.