SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — After unveiling the new team’s name and logo Tuesday evening, the Schaumburg Boomers announced the hiring of Jamie Bennett as the Boomers inaugural Manager.

Bennett began his coaching career in 2006 with Boomers Owner/CEO Pat Salvi’s first minor league baseball team, the Gary SouthShore RailCats, which now play in the Independent American Association. After retiring as a player following the 2005 season, Bennett took over as Pitching Coach for the RailCats 35 games into the season with the club sporting a 5.63 ERA. Over the final 62 games of the season – after Bennett’s arrival – the pitching staff boasted a 3.45 ERA and helped carry the RailCats in the postseason.

“(Jamie) has a long RailCats tradition and also has great knowledge with regards to the Frontier League, said Owner/CEO Pat Salvi. “We couldn’t be prouder to have Jamie Bennett as the inaugural Manager of the Schaumburg Boomers.”

“I would like to thank Pat Salvi for this wonderful opportunity,” said Bennett. “I am very excited to be a part of bringing baseball back to Schaumburg and putting a team on the field that will represent the community and the Frontier League in a professional manner.”

Under Bennett’s watch, his pitching staffs have twice posted an ERA under 4.00 and RailCats hurlers won the league's Pitcher of the Year award in 2007 and 2008. Since 2006, five different RailCats pitchers earned a spot on an All-Star Team and a pair have been named to Baseball America's All-Independent Teams. In addition, four of Bennett's former charges - Willie Glen, Chad Blackwell, Kris Regas and Edwin Walker - have been signed by Major League organizations. The 2007 RailCats led the Northern League in ERA at 3.84 in Bennett’s second full season as pitching coach. Bennett also served as an assistant coach at Division II baseball powerhouse University of South Carolina at Aiken during his playing career.

“When we started the interview (process), we wanted someone with experience in Independent Baseball but also someone with experience specific to the Frontier League,” President and General Manager Andy Viano said. “Winning is a very big deal for us. We have done a lot of that in Gary, Ind. (with the RailCats) over the last several years and Jamie has done a whole lot of winning there with us as well. Jamie has a track record of winning wherever he’s been, from his days at the University of Tennessee to his career as a professional pitcher and pitching coach and now, with his hard-work and knowledge of the game, I am confident Jamie will bring the same winning ways to the Schaumburg Boomers starting in 2012!”

Originally selected in the 22nd round of the 2000 major league entry draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, Bennett pitched two seasons for the Batavia Muckdogs, the Single-A affiliate of the Phillies in the New York-Pennsylvania League. In 2002, Bennett joined the Independent ranks with the Frontier League’s Dubois County Dragons where he pitched for RailCats Manager and mentor Greg Tagert. Until taking over the reigns of the Boomers for the inaugural 2012 season, Bennett remained with the same manager throughout his independent playing and coaching career.

A veteran of 104 minor league games including 78 starts, Bennett has a career record of 37-18 and a career ERA of 3.89. The southpaw also racked up 379 strikeouts to just 138 walks in 513.2 innings as a professional. In his lone season pitching for the RailCats, Bennett earned a 10-5 record in 150 innings over 24 starts while striking out 68 and walking only 27. Bennett started and won Game Five of the 2005 Northern League Championship Series for the RailCats to secure the franchise’s first Championship.

A Tennessee native, Bennett played collegiately at the University of Tennessee and was an all-SEC pitcher for  In 149.2 innings which included 19 starts and six complete games during the 2000 season, the southpaw earned a 10-4 record to go along with a sparkling 2.71 ERA while striking out 111 and walking just 39.

The Schaumburg Boomers name comes from the “booming call” of the male Greater Prairie Chicken, which can found across the Midwest and is now listed as “vulnerable” on the conservation list. Check out www.schaumburgboomers.com or call the Boomers front office at 847.361.FOWL (3695) for more information on the brand-new minor league franchise scheduled for play in the Independent Frontier League beginning in May 2012. Be sure to follow the boomers on Twitter @boomersbaseball or visit www.facebook.com/schaumburgboomers to like us on Facebook!