FARGO, N.D. – The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks announced that Jim Bennett has been released as the team’s manager ahead of the 2020 season.
Bennett, 54, went 63-37 in his only season with the RedHawks before losing to the St. Paul Saints (3-2) in the best-of-five 2019 American Association North Division Championship Series Playoffs, marking the first time the RedHawks made the playoffs since 2013. He was also named as the American Association Manager of the Year.
“On behalf of the RedHawks organization, I thank Jim for his efforts as our manager in 2019.” said Brad Thom, RedHawks President/CEO. “He helped bring us back to the playoffs, but unfortunately we couldn’t come to an agreement on the extent of his role for this year and ultimately we had to go in another direction”.
Former RedHawks player and current bench coach Chris Coste has been named as the interim manager for the 2020 season.
“The RedHawks have been a big part of my baseball career and I didn’t envision this situation happening, especially with everything else going on this year.” said Chris Coste. “I look forward to the future of the organization, but more importantly, my goal is to ensure the current 2020 season is positive and successful, not only for the players and team on the field, but also for the entire organization, and most important, for baseball fans and the entire Fargo-Moorhead community.”
A press conference will be held at Newman Outdoor Field on Tuesday, June 16 at 11:00am to officially introduce Coste as the interim manager.
The F-M RedHawks are preparing to play a shortened 2020 season with the home opener on Friday, July 3 at Newman Outdoor Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:02pm