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Jim Riggleman returns to managing with job in Pioneer League

By Kevin Henry

NEW YORK - CIRCA 1997: Manager Jim Riggleman #5 of the Chicago Cubs argues with an umpire during a Major League baseball game against the New York Mets circa 1997 at Shea Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City. Riggleman managed for the Cubs from 1995-99. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - CIRCA 1997: Manager Jim Riggleman #5 of the Chicago Cubs argues with an umpire during a Major League baseball game against the New York Mets circa 1997 at Shea Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City. Riggleman managed for the Cubs from 1995-99. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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After managing five different Major League Baseball franchises over the course of 13 years, Jim Riggleman is once again overseeing a dugout, the time as the manager of the Pioneer League’s Billings Mustangs.

Riggleman managed the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Nationals between 1992 and 2018, compiling a 726-904 career record. His finest season came in 1998 when he guided the Cubs to a 90-73 mark, including a tie-breaking win against the San Francisco Giants to earn the Wild Card and advance to the National League Division Series. However, the Cubs were swept in three games by the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS.

Along with being an MLB manager, Riggleman has worked as the third base coach for the Cleveland then-Indians, first base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, and bench coach for the Nationals, Mariners, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Additionally, between his MLB stints managing the Nationals and Reds, he oversaw Cincinnati’s Triple-A team for two seasons.

Jim Riggleman will become the first manager with MLB experience in the Pioneer League

In his new position overseeing the Mustangs, he becomes the first-ever manager coming from a Major League background to take the controls of a Pioneer League team. He inherits the club from Joe Kruzel, who now works in the minor league system of the Los Angeles Angels as a field coordinator.

The Pioneer League has been dubbed as a “partner league” by MLB meaning that the league, according to MLB, “will collaborate with MLB on initiatives to provide organized baseball to communities throughout the United States and Canada while working to expand the geographic reach of the game.”

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In 2022, Billings is scheduled to play 96 games, split evenly between home and away. They are part of the Pioneer League’s five-team Northern Division, along with three other teams in Montana (Great Falls, Missoula, and Flathead Valley) as well as Idaho Falls (Idaho). The Pioneer League’s Southern Division also consists of five teams stretching from Idaho to Colorado.

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