GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) - The Cleveland Indians have hired former minor league pitcher Gregg Langbehn to be their major league replay coordinator.
The 43-year-old will watch games from the clubhouse and advise on when to challenge an umpire’s decision.
“There will be communication to the dugout, I’m assuming it’s a hard line,” Indians manager Terry Francona said Tuesday. “He’s going to call us, because if there’s something going on, I’m going to have to go out on the field. It will be our responsibility to communicate with him in a timely fashion and then we make our own decisions.”
Langbehn pitched in the minor leagues for eight years with the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers organizations, climbing to Triple-A and finishing 48-43 with a 3.32 ERA in 71 starts and 192 relief appearances.
He spent eight years in the Houston Astros organization as hitting coach of Rookie League Martinsville (2001-02) and Class A Lexington (2003), and manager of Class A Tri-City (2004-06) and Lexington (2007-08). Langebehn managed the Traverse City Beach Bums in the independent Frontier League for the past five years.
“He’s been a basketball referee. He’s been a football referee. And he’s been a minor league manager, so we thought that those were pretty good qualities,” Francona said.
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