User:Samurai27/sandbox

Background
Kevin Cash is a native son of Florida. Cash was born on December 6, 1977 at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital in Tampa. His parents, Patsy and Mike Cash, who remember him always playing baseball, raised him along with his brother Justin in the Tampa Bay area. Patsy told the Tampa Bay Times; “ he always had a ball glove in his hand”. During Cash’s childhood he attended Lake Magdalene Elementary, Young Middle School, and Gaither High School. Cash went on to attend Florida State University graduating with a major in business and sports management. Cash’s long journey with baseball began, as it does with most players, during his time playing in his local little league. At the age of twelve, Cash played second base for the Tampa Northside Little League team. In 1989 Cash helped his team win the Little League Baseball World Series. During the series, Cash started on second base in all three games and finished with a 2-7 batting record, which included a two score double. The Northside team won the series with a 2-1 record.

During his college career, Cash played at Florida State University for three years. During his time at Florida State, Kevin played first and third base; playing for the team when they made it into the 1999 College World Series, eventually losing to the University of Miami 6-5. After graduating college, he received an opportunity during the summer of 1999 when he was playing in the Cape Cod League. After one player was injured and another sick, Cash was able to play catcher, a position he hadn’t played since little league, and impressed Tim Wilken, a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays. Cash was signed as a catcher with Toronto after being offered a $60,000 contract in 1999 and began playing for Toronto’s class-A team the Hagerstown Suns.

Professional Career
Cash has played in both minor and major league baseball for twelve years. During those twelve years, he has played for over a dozen minor and major league teams, including: the Toronto Blue Jays, Durham Bulls, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees. Cash’s career began when he signed with the Toronto ball club in 1999 and started playing for the class-A Hagerstown Suns in 2000. He moved up from the minor league Suns to the big show on September 6, 2002, playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. On May 9, 2005 Kevin was back in the minors playing for the Durham Bulls, the Tampa Bay AAA league team. On June 15, 2005 he began playing for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, his hometown MLB team. In August 2007 he was playing for the Boston Red Sox. Cash received a 2007 World Series Ring as a player with the winning Red Sox. On May 12, 2009, he began playing for the New York Yankees and received a 2nd World Series ring as a member of that winning team. Cash returned to play for the Boston Red Sox on June 2, 2010. The Red Sox were the last MLB team Cash played for before retiring as a player from Major League Baseball on April 4, 2011.

After retiring as a ball player, Cash began to work as a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012. Later he worked as a bullpen coach for the Cleveland Indians and stayed with the Indians until 2014. In 2014 Joe Maddon announced he was no longer going to serve as manager for the Tampa Bay Rays. In December of 2014 the Ray’s organization offered Cash the position of manager and he accepted. On December 5, 2014 the Ray’s organization announced Kevin Cash as the 2015 Tampa Bay Rays manager.

Family Baseball History
Cash comes from a family that makes baseball their profession. Both his father Michael Cash and uncle Roy Cash were baseball players. “ Cash’s father, Michael, played five seasons as an infielder in the minors, mostly in the Giants organization before going to the Phillies…Cash’s uncle, Ron Cash, played six pro seasons in the Tigers organization as an infielder and outfielder and made it briefly to the majors in 1973-74, hitting .297 in thirty-four games”. (http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/getting-to-know-new-rays-manager-kevin-cash/2210229)

Fifth Manager of the Rays
On October 24, 2014 Joe Maddon, fourth manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, announced that he would opt out of his contract and would not be managing the Rays in 2015. The Rays organization now had to begin a search for a new manager. The organization compiled a lengthy list of ten names. The list included: Don Wakamatsu, Raul Ibanez, Tony La Russa, Lou Piniella, Dave Miley, Kevin Cash, and others. Cash was one of the three finalists for the position. On December 5, 2014 the Tampa Rays organization announced Kevin Nash as the fifth manager of the Rays baseball team.

Cash has already made a major achievement; at the age of thirty-seven, he is currently the youngest manger in Major League baseball. Cash is also currently the youngest manager/coach in any of the United States 4 major sports branches (NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB). He’s also the first Tampa player to return to the team as a manager after already playing for the team in 2005, when they were called the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. However, he is also facing a major challenge ahead of him. This is Cash’s first time in a manager’s position. Coach Cash also has the challenge of living up to standards set by his predecessors: Larry Rothschild, Hal McRae, Lou Piniella, and Joe Maddon.

Conclusion
With over a decade of experience in baseball as a player and having played for numerous MLB teams, in both minor and major league organizations, Kevin Cash now returns home as a promising new manager to lead the Tampa Bay Rays in their 2015 season. Will this youthful and energetic manager be up to the challenge or will his inexperience in the manager’s position lead him to failure? What kind of future will his leadership bring to the Tampa Bay Rays franchise? Only time will tell.