The Savannah Sand Gnats add veterans Ric Sisler, Dave Wellenzohn to the front office.The Savannah Sand Gnats (Low Class A; Sally League) have added two new seasoned veterans to their front office staff as the 2009 season approaches. Ric Sisler, who served as the team’s general manager from 1991-1998, joins the staff as the director of sales. Dave Wellenzohn, who most recently served as the general manager of the Batavia Muckdogs (short season; NY-Penn League), takes over as the director of ticketing.
“The process of re-making the front office, which began earlier this month with the installation of R.C. Reuteman as president, continues today with the additions of Ric and Dave,” said Jason Freier, CEO of Hardball Capital and managing member of the Sand Gnats ownership group. “These two gentlemen bring tremendous experience to our ballclub and community. With R.C., General Manager Bradley Dodson, Ric and Dave, we now have four people on staff that have run a ballclub, giving us a true All-Star front office.”
Sisler brings over 20 years of baseball experience as well as ties to the local Savannah community. His track record of success includes being named the Northern League Executive of the Year in 1999, setting six attendance records in his first stint with the Sand Gnats and winning the 1991 South Atlantic League Merit Award for attendance achievement.
He is the grandson of Hall of Famer George Sisler, a lifetime .340 hitter with the St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators and Boston Braves and the 1922 American League Most Valuable Player. His father, Dick Sisler, also played in the Major Leagues and managed the Cincinnati Reds in the mid-1960s. Ric played three years in the New York Yankees’ farm system before moving into the front office.
The Tennessee graduate joined the Sand Gnats in 1988 as assistant general manager for the team which was, at the time, known as the Savannah Cardinals. It was prior to the 1996 season, during Sisler’s time as General Manager, that the team adopted the “Sand Gnats” moniker.
Wellenzohn takes over the ticketing operation for the Sand Gnats after spending last season running the day-to-day operations for the Muckdogs.