Turgeon young guy, but is well-traveled

The Scrappers' new manager spent last season in Burlington, N.C.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
Not many people have run through a Burlington, N.C., neighborhood at 1 a.m.
But Ben Wittkowski has, and he laughs about the story involving Dave Turgeon, named this week as the new Mahoning Valley Scrappers manager.
Turgeon showered following a Burlington Indians game and soon discovered his keys were missing.
Thinking someone had entered the clubhouse and stolen the keys, he quickly called Wittkowski, general manager of the Cleveland Indians' Rookie League affiliate, in another part of the stadium.
"He calls over and says, 'I need you to come over here right now,' " Wittkowski recalled.
Not thinking the matter was serious, Wittkowski didn't hurry in meeting with Turgeon, the team's manager.
Searching: When they finally got together, Turgeon explained the disappearance of his keys, and the two took off running for a perpetrator.
"When the cops got here, Turgeon goes through the whole story," Wittkowski said.
Minutes later, the group discovered the keys -- they were sitting on the washing machine.
It suddenly became a light-hearted moment.
"He was fun to be around," Wittkowski said.
His second season: Now, Mahoning Valley gets its chance to enjoy Turgeon, who is beginning his second season as a manager.
"Dave is a real enthusiastic, outgoing person," Wittkowski said. "He's very serious about his players and the job they do on the field, and that shows.
"He really cares for the guys, and that's important, especially at this level," Wittkowski said. "He develops them as players and people."
That sounds like former Scrappers manager Ted Kubiak, who developed a close rapport with his players while leading the team to two straight Pinckney-Stedler Division titles.
Because of the Scrappers' success in their first two years in the Mahoning Valley, Turgeon seems to have a tough act to follow in the eyes of area fans.
He does have the experience of a vast playing career on his side.
"He's a younger guy, but he's well traveled in terms of his playing experience," Scrappers general manager Andy Milovich said. "From that standpoint, managerially, you look for a guy who has seen it all and done it all."
Turgeon, a right-handed pitcher, was drafted into the New York Yankees organization in 1987, which began a four-year stint there.
His next six years were spent playing on teams in Holland, France and Taiwan before returning to North America in 1998 and becoming a member of the Baltimore Orioles organization. Turgeon finished his playing career in the Mexican League.
First-year log: In Turgeon's first year as a manager, Burlington had a 21-46 record.
His promotion to Mahoning Valley came after Willie Upshaw and Chris Bando moved up within the organization -- Upshaw to Indians hitting coordinator and Bando, who had originally been named Kubiak's successor, to Double-A Akron manager.
"It's nice to know [the new manager] is someone within the Indians family," Milovich said.
The Scrappers begin their season June 19 in a four-game series at Utica, N.Y. They open at home June 23 in a two-game series against Williamsport.