New Bench Coach in Charlotte

Manager Justin Jirschele and hitting coach Cameron Seitzer made their Charlotte Knights coaching debuts in 2023. Both coaches will return to Uptown Charlotte in 2024. Hyeon Kim (trainer) and George Timke (performance coach) will also return. They’ll be joined by newcomers R.C. Lichtenstein (pitching coach) and Pat Listach (bench coach). Both are also newcomers to the Chicago White Sox organization.

Let’s take a look a the career of Listach, who burst onto the major league scene in a big way in 1992…

MLB CAREER
Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fifth round of the 1988 MLB June Amateur Draft, Listach appeared in 503 games at the major league level over parts of six seasons from 1992–97 with Milwaukee (1992–1996) and Houston (1997). The 1992 Brewers, led by manager Phil Garner, posted an impressive 92–70 record. The team finished second in the American League East. The team featured Hall-of-Fame players, Paul Molitor & Robin Yount, as well as Kevin Seitzer, father to Knights hitting coach, Cameron.

A strong 1992 season for the Brewers was highlighted by the emergence of 24-year-old, Pat Listach.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
In 1992, Listach batted .290 with 168 hits (second on the Brewers that year behind Hall-of-Famer, Paul Molitor) and swiped a team-high 54 stolen bases during his rookie season with Milwaukee. For his strong efforts that year, Listach was named the 1992 American League Rookie of the Year. He became the first Brewers player to swipe 50 bases in a single season. His 54 stolen bases ranked second in the American League that year behind Cleveland’s Kenny Lofton.

WALL OF HONOR
In 2014, Listach was inducted into the Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor.

COACHING CAREER
Listach has continued his baseball career in a coaching capacity and he has done so at both the major league and minor league level.

From his Baseball Reference page:
After one season as coach for the Lansing Lugnuts and five seasons as the hitting coach for the Iowa Cubs, Listach took over as manager of the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx in 2006. After the 2006 season, the team’s parent club, the Chicago Cubs, changed affiliates, and Listach was named manager of the Tennessee Smokies. Listach served as the third base coach for the Washington Nationals in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, he rejoined the Cubs as bench coach under manager Mike Quade, then when Dale Sveum was hired as manager in 2012, he moved over to the third base coaching position. In 2013, Listach was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ minor league infield coordinator. In 2014, he moved to the Houston Astros as third base coach but stayed for only one season.

Listach joined the Seattle Mariners organization as manager of the AAA Tacoma Rainiers from 2015–2018. He then managed the Acereros del Norte in 2019 and 2021. Listach returned stateside as bench coach of the Jersey Shore BlueClaws in 2022.

Most recently, Listach served as bench coach for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies) in 2023. Now, Listach will spend a second straight season in the International League — now with the Knights.

FAMILY IN BASEBALL
His grandfather, Nora Listach, played in the Negro Leagues for the Satchel Paige All-Stars in 1940 and the Birmingham Black Barons in 1941.