Former Lewis-Clark State College and major league catcher Steve Decker has been named manager of the Fresno Grizzlies, the Class AAA minor league team of the San Francisco Giants.
Decker, who played at LCSC during the 1987 and ’88 seasons and earned NAIA All America honors during his senior season, becomes the seventh manager in Grizzlies’ history.
Decker has spent the last seven years as a coach in the Giants’ minor league system and has had led his clubs to four titles in the five years he has been a manager.
Originally from Rock Island, Ill., Decker transferred to LCSC for this final two years and was selected by the Giants in the 21st round of the 1988 draft with the 541st pick overall. He eventually made his major league debut with the Giants on Sept. 18, 1990 and spent three seasons with the club before joining the Florida Marlins in its initial season in 1993. He spent the next year in the minors before rejoining the Marlins in 1995. The following year he played with both San Francisco and Colorado and then finished his major league career in 1999 with Anaheim.
Decker spent two seasons (2003-04) with the Grizzlies as their hitting coach before being named manager of the Giants’ short-season A club in Salem-Keizer. He spent three seasons as skipper there and won Northwest League titles in 2006 and ’07. He then led the Class A Advanced San Jose Giants to an 88-55 mark in 2008, the best record in the California League, and then last season he led the Connecticut Defenders to the Class AA Eastern League finals.
Decker has an all-time record of 328-185 (.639 winning percentage) as a Minor League manager.
