For the fourth straight season, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers will be guided by a first-year manager.

The Scrappers announced the hiring of Quinton McCracken on Tuesday as the team’s manager for the 2024 season. McCracken replaces Dmitri Young, who served as the Scrappers’ skipper in 2023.

“I can’t wait to get started, I’m looking forward to spending a summer with young men who are striving to get where I’ve been,” McCracken said. “I’ve been blessed. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to experience a career in baseball. My hope is that I can help in the developmental process and help guide some of these players down that same path.”

McCracken brings a wealth of Big League experience to the Scrappers. After graduating from Duke University, McCracken was selected by the Colorado Rockies in their inaugural draft in 1992. He made his major league debut in 1995. A year later he batted .290. In 1997, he stole a career-high 28 bases with a .292 average.

In November of ’97, McCracken was picked up by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the MLB expansion draft. McCracken holds the distinction of making Tampa Bay’s first-ever plate appearance. He also scored the first run and recorded the first stolen base in team history.

McCracken would finish the ’98 season as Tampa Bay’s MVP, batting .292 with seven home runs and 59 RBI while playing in 155 games.

McCracken spent three years in Tampa. He would go on to play for Minnesota, Arizona (where he batted .309 in 2002) and Seattle before ending his MLB playing career in 2006 with Cincinnati.

During his time in MLB, McCracken spent his entire career in the outfield, playing 452 games.

McCracken has since held front office jobs with the Diamondbacks, Astros and Marlins.

For the past three years, he served as a special assistant for player development operations for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Though McCracken now refers to himself as “a baseball lifer,” that wasn’t always the case. While growing up in Southport, North Carolina, McCracken was a four-sport standout. In fact, at Duke he played both football and baseball all four years while earning a degree in Political Science with a minor in history.

“We won a conference title in football in 1989 with coach Steve Spurrier, but then after that season ended he left and took all the wins with him,” McCracken said with a laugh.

It wasn’t until McCracken’s sophomore year at Duke that he realized baseball might be his ticket to professional sports.

“Growing up, my favorite sport depended on the season,” McCracken said. “But being in North Carolina, my first love was basketball. Watching Michael Jordan at North Carolina and Johnny Dawkins at Duke, I fell in love with the game. Halfway through my college career, I really began to understand that I might have a future in baseball.”

Two years later, McCracken was drafted by the Rockies during his senior season at Duke. He was a 25th round selection in the 1992 draft. The Rockies began play as an expansion franchise in 1993.

“After finishing up at Duke, I signed with the Rockies, was given $1,000 and a plane ticket and I began my professional career at the lowest level,” McCracken said. “Through hard work and thanks to the grace of God, I managed to work my way to the top and I managed to make a career out of playing a game that I love.”

McCracken says that his journey from a late-round draft pick to a 12-year MLB career is spearheading his desire to be on the field as a mentor.

“I think that part of the reason I’m excited about managing in the Draft League is that I have something to share. I’ve been through it all at every level,” McCracken said. “I’ve been one of the better players on a big league roster and I’ve been the twenty-fifth best player on the roster. I’ve gone through the college aspect and the draft process.

“My time in player development really spurred on the desire to coach.”

McCracken noted that his arrival in Niles later this spring won’t be his first visit. When he worked in player development with the Marlins, McCracken spent several nights at Eastwood Field with the Batavia Muckdogs.

McCracken and his wife Maggie have a son, 14-year-old Isaiah. The family resides just outside of Houston.

McCracken becomes the 15th different manager in Scrappers history.

The Scrappers were a short-season Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians from 1999-2019. The 2020 season was canceled due to COVID. When the Scrappers returned in 2021, they were a member of the MLB Draft League. Their Draft League managers have included Coco Crisp, Homer Bush, Young and now McCracken.

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