Former Cleveland Indians pitcher Jason Stanford will serve asthe Youngstown State University pitching coach for the 2012-13academic year, YSU first-year head baseball coach Steve Gillispieannounced.
Stanford pitched professionally for nine seasons with theIndians, Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs organizations. Hemost recently served as the varsity baseball coach at nearbyHowland High School.
“Jason brings a great deal of experience for our pitchingstaff, having pitched successfully at every level ofbaseball,” Gillispie said. “We hope to draw on thatexperience to develop our staff to be among the top in the HorizonLeague. He’s very familiar with the baseball landscape in theYoungstown area from his time at Howland, and we’ll use hisconnections to enhance our recruiting efforts locally.”
Among Stanford’s long list of accomplishments, he twicepitched for Team USA. He was named to the 2001 All-World Cup Teamin Taiwan as the best left-handed pitcher in the tournament.
Stanford finished his Major League Baseball career with a 2-5record and a 3.61 ERA in 23 total appearances despite battling anongoing elbow injury. He made his debut for the Indians on July 6,2003, when he started against the Minnesota Twins, and his firstwin came on Sept. 26 the same season when he threw six scorelessinnings in a start against the Blue Jays. He also pitched forCleveland in 2004 and 2007. While in the majors, Stanford wasinvolved with the Garth Brooks “Teammates for Kids”Foundation, B.A.T.S and the Volunteer Center of Southern ArizonaSaint Nicholas program.
As a collegian, Stanford was an Academic All-American at BartonCounty Community College in Kansas before becoming a two-timeAll-Conference USA selection at Charlotte. He led the 49ers in winsboth seasons and won nine consecutive decisions in 1998.
Stanford currently co-hosts Indians On-Deck, Indians MinorLeague Magazine and Tribe Report on SportsTime Ohio. He also runsthe Stanford Baseball Academy, LLC. at Eastwood Field with a focuson individual instruction.
