Area native to bring wealth of experience to Cape Catfish dugout

It would have been a difficult assignment for a young baseball manager to step into the incredibly successful shoes of Stephen Larkin, who has served as the only manager in the three seasons of Cape Catfish baseball. So, Catfish General Manager Mark Hogan and club president and minority owner Glenn Campbell made sure the next leader of the team could handle the responsibility.

The Catfish announced the hiring of Scott City native, and former Major League Baseball player, Scott Little, on Wednesday to lead the club on the field for the 2023 season, and perhaps even beyond.

“I interviewed some younger guys before I knew that Scott was available,” Hogan said. “This is really a dream come true to be able to associate with a guy, who I have respected my whole career, as a baseball purist.”

Little has been either playing the game of baseball or working professionally in it for four decades, but he is reluctant to discuss his resume, which is a treasure trove of achievements in a multitude of sports.

He attended the University of Missouri on a football scholarship and played in the 1981 Tangerine Bowl with the Tigers while competing for the school on the baseball diamond in the spring.

He later played both basketball and baseball at Mineral Area College, before being drafted by the New York Mets in 1984.

He was later traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he made his MLB debut in 1989 – and yes, he got a hit in the big leagues - which will carry some weight with the young players, whom he’ll be mentoring this summer.

“Scott is a humble guy,” Hogan said, “and he is a great communicator. I know the kids are going to immediately magnetize (to Scott).”

As impressive as Little’s on-the-field experience was back in the day, his experience of teaching and leading since 1992, when he was named as the manager of the Augusta Pirates in the South Atlantic League, will be more relevant THIS summer.

“There are so many lessons that you can learn from sports,” Little said. “It’s not just baseball, it can be any sport. It is about competing and about playing hard. It is about doing the best you can, learning, and just getting better and growing from all situations.”

Little has worked as either a manager, bench coach, hitting coach, scout, instructor, or minor league field coordinator for the Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, and most recently, the Colorado Rockies.

He has been a manager for the Rockies organization for each of the last six seasons.

“I do like ‘small ball,’” Little said of his style, “but at the same time, you go with what you have. If (Hogan) gets nine bangers out there, who can swing the bat, we’ll just sit back and watch them swing it.

“But if we’ve got a bunch of guys, who are little dirtbags that love to play baseball, can catch it, and pitch, and we need to score runs here and there, then we’ll play small ball.”

Regardless of the style of play, Little said his emphasis is going to be on development, first and foremost.

“Coaching is fun,” Little said, “(but) it is more exciting, it’s a better challenge when you are trying to get guys better and better and keep improving.

“I’ve had push-button teams, where I just wrote the lineup and let them play, but that wasn’t as fun. Winning is always fun, we all know that, but there is more in there (to do) and that is our job here.”

The Catfish have quickly become the most successful franchise in the Prospect League after playing for the 2019 league title and winning it in 2021.

Cape has a franchise record of 113-75 and narrowly missed the playoffs last summer.

“Our coaching staff during our first three seasons was incredible,” Campbell said, “so we knew we needed to find someone to carry on our winning tradition.”

Hogan acknowledged the accomplishments of Larkin and his two assistant coaches, David Lawson and Josh Meyer, who both have chosen not to return this summer due to “family reasons.”

Hogan said now that he has a manager in place, he, Campbell, and Little will fill the remainder of the staff soon.

“We are so fortunate,” Hogan said. “We are blessed. I hope this becomes a long-term deal.”

Little lives in Jackson with his wife, Heidi, while his two children are now adults, one working as an engineer with Boeing Company and another as a nurse practitioner in Sikeston.