TERRE HAUTE —
Even though Brian Dorsett keeps busy running his Terre Haute auto dealership, the former Indiana State University athlete and former major-league player can’t quit baseball cold turkey.
He won’t allow himself to do it. Not yet anyway.
So Dorsett told Terre Haute Rex fans and business supporters during a luncheon Thursday at Clabber Girl Bake Shop that he will return to manage the summer college team for its second season in 2011.
“It certainly got easier for me to make the decision once baseball season was over and I realized how much I was missing being around the guys,” he told the Tribune-Star afterward. “I had nothing but high praise for the Rex organization from what we went through [in 2010]. That team was just amazing to be around. So when I thought back on it recently, there was a lot of demand on my time … but there was no reason for me not to come back. It was what I wanted to do.”
“We’re overly excited about Brian coming back as the manager,” Rex general manager Roland Shelton said. “His professionalism, his understanding of baseball from the collegiate level to the professional level really sustained our year. He represents the organization at the highest level.”
Shelton also praised Dorsett and his staff for how they interacted with players this past season.
“It’s not just about coaching them on the field,” he explained. “It’s teaching them how to be professionals … and Brian brings that to the table every day.”
Shelton also announced at the luncheon that former ISU assistant coach Casey DeGroote, who served as a Rex assistant this past season, has been promoted to the position of operations manager within the organization.
“I’ve spent hours with Casey and identified him as a person we’d like to move up through the organization,” Shelton told the Tribune-Star. “Looking at Casey, he has some key ingredients to be successful. He has the passion to be very successful, he has the knowledge of baseball … and, finally, he has the skills.
“We’ll see him grow into more of a leadership role in the organization. As operations manager, he’ll be directly below me [in the chain of command]. He’s my protégé. He’s my my right- and left-hand guy, along with [Rex financial manager] Matt Foster.”
On a related note, Shelton said DeGroote aspires to be the Rex general manager someday.
“I told him he has to move me out of the way,” Shelton added with a chuckle. “So in order to do that — I’m an old-school guy — he has to prove it to me and prove it to us. And he’s doing it. Let me tell you, he’s doing an outstanding job.”
In other team news:
• Dorsett said two new assistants have been added to his staff for next season — Jeff Brown, who will coach third base, and Steven Brown (no relation to Jeff), who will handle the pitchers. John Gardner and Darrin Barton will remain as volunteer assistants for home games.
• Shelton said the first-year Rex were financially successful in 2010. “Typically it takes about three years to generate income in a business like this,” he mentioned.
• Dorsett and Shelton agreed that getting such an early start on preparation for the 2011 season — especially compared to 2010 — can only help the organization.
Shelton pointed out that Nashville and Terre Haute were the 14th and 15th teams to sign up for the Prospect League in 2010. “We had about 4 1/2 solid months to do the job — get ready for the season,” he recalled.
For 2011, the Rex staff has been working with little time off since the 2010 campaign ended. Next season will start in early June. Shelton said the Rex schedule should be announced in January and there will be no new teams joining the league this time.
“We’re out there right now hitting the ground running,” Dorsett emphasized. “We’re talking to all the elite programs in college [about players potentially joining the Rex].”
Anyone wanting to play for the Rex must have at least one year of college eligibility remaining.
“It’s going to help,” Dorsett continued about the early start. “You certainly want to put the best product possible out there. With the personnel, you want great individuals in terms of their character to put out there for Terre Haute and the Wabash Valley. And then you want guys who can play the game. I think what we’ve been able to do now is assess where our weaknesses were [in 2010] and how we feel that maybe we can plug some guys in that will help us.”
He believes there will be some ISU players on the roster again, but he’s not sure yet who or how many Sycamores will join the Rex.
“We just want to continue to put a good product out there and win as many games as possible,” Dorsett concluded. “We do want to win a championship… I think we’re ahead of the game by far [compared to preparation for 2010], simply because we have more contacts than we did, and I think fans are going to like what we’re putting out there.”
Terre Haute Rex
Dorsett to return as Terre Haute Rex manager
- Terre Haute Rex
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
The Terre Haute Rex went through plenty of trials and tribulations during the summer of 2012.
The team got off to a sluggish start to settle for third place during the first half of the Prospect League race, but manager Brian Dorsett rallied the troops to a second-half title. -
Metro Roundup: Dorsett, Rex players honored in Prospect League postseason awards
Terre Haute Rex closer Nick Blount won one award and shared another and Brian Dorsett shared Manager of the Year honors as the Prospect League announced postseason awards Saturday.
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Rex out of playoffs
Successful playoff baseball = clean baseball.
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Rex mix, match their way to win
The Terre Haute Rex clinched a playoff spot last Thursday … but there were still four games to be played.
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Rex turn eye to Prospect playoffs
Fans attending this evening’s Terre Haute Rex game should expect some handouts, some surprises — and probably better start by the home team than the Rex could provide Saturday night.
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Rex drop road game to Sliders 7-1
One night after a dramatic come-from-behind victory, the Terre Haute Rex went down meekly to the Springfield Sliders 7-1 in Prospect League baseball Friday night.
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Rex defeat Springfield twice, clinch spot in playoffs
It was a long but fruitful night for the playoff-bound Terre Haute Rex.
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Playoff march continues: Rex creep closer to postseason with victory over Dans
Hire the band, make the floats, and rent out a street.
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Rex split, retain 3 1⁄2-game advantage in West Division
A five-run ninth-inning rally fell far short for the Terre Haute Rex on Sunday night in Prospect League baseball.
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No no-hitter, but Rex triumphs
Kyle Zimmerman took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, lost his control and the lead, but the Terre Haute Rex offense had an immediate answer Friday night at Bob Warn Field.
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Travel baseball teams enjoy busy summer
So in the past two or three years, the increase in local travel baseball options has been led by three groups, Indiana (formerly Terre Haute) Havoc, Riley Recreation League and Junior Rex.
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First-place Rex top rival Bombers
If you haven’t been to a Terre Haute Rex game yet this season, tonight might be the time to go.
The Rex have a second straight home game against the Dubois County Bombers, a potential Prospect League West Division playoff preview — and a battle between maybe the division’s two biggest rivals. -
Rex top Cavemen, raise record to 14-6
The first-place Terre Haute Rex picked up a 6-4 victory Wednesday at Hannibal, Mo., against the Cavemen.
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Rex win first game of Saturday doubleheader
Terre Haute maintained its stronghold on first place in the Prospect League West Division on Saturday, the Rex defeating Dubois County 6-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.
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Strunc fans 10, Rex win 12-10
Power pitching and power hitting kept a season-high crowd of 1,732 Rex fans on the edge of their seats Friday night at Bob Warn Field.
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Starting role suits Cunningham as Rex win
Nick Cunningham took the mound Thursday in his relatively new role as starting pitcher looking to give the Terre Haute Rex some breathing room atop the Prospect League West Division standings.
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Rex fall at Danville, maintain two-game division lead
The Terre Haute Rex lost 7-4 on Wednesday at Danville, falling to 9-4 in the second half of the Prospect League schedule.
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High drama, but no win
Pinch-hitter Michael Eberle provided patient Terre Haute Rex fans with plenty of excitement by belting a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the score against the Springfield Sliders at 9-9.
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Rex cool off against Springfield
It was a game Terre Haute probably didn’t deserve to win, and, despite an outstanding bullpen effort and focused hitting in the last few innings, the Rex did lose Monday for the first time since July 4 at Quincy.
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Rex roll to lead in division
A constant theme repeated by Terre Haute Rex manager Brian Dorsett is how his summer-league collegians adjust to the everyday schedule, rather than the four or five-game slates they’re used to.
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Rex bounce back, dominate Dans
Terre Haute reaped the bounty of three Danville errors in the second inning. The Rex made the Dans pay for each of their errors with eight base hits in the inning and Terre Haute never looked back on its way to an 11-4 victory in front of sweltering crowd of 669.
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Rex open second half with victory at Quincy
The Terre Haute Rex opened the second half of the Prospect League season with a 8-7 victory Tuesday night at Quincy Stadium.
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Head coach could be next stop for Prettyman
Credited in part to some unforgettable memories at Cal State Fullerton, where Ronnie Prettyman scored the winning run in the 2004 College World Series, the Indiana State and Terre Haute Rex assistant coach wants to pursue a future in college coaching.
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Cunningham, McCurdy pace Rex to win over league leader
What was essentially a meaningless baseball game as far as the standings were concerned couldn’t have gone much better for the Terre Haute Rex on Saturday night at Bob Warn Field.
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Rex score 4 before getting first hit, then hang on for win
With temperatures over 100 degrees Friday, affairs at Bob Warn Field took a walk on the wild side.
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Rex duo working overtime
It’s obviously a bonus to recruit a college baseball player that can pitch once a week and take the field and bat in the middle of the batting order the rest of the time.
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Rex fall 7-1 to Hannibal
The Terre Haute Rex lost 7-1 on Thursday, falling behind 4-0 after the first inning at Bob Warn Field.
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Rex have winning streak snapped
The season-long five-game winning streak of the Terre Haute Rex came to an end Wednesday night at Dubois County.
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Rex move within four games of first-place Dubois County
The Terre Haute Rex moved within four games of the first-place Dubois County Bombers, scoring the first 11 runs in a 12-6 shellacking at Bob Warn Field on Tuesday.
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Rex take third straight, move to 12-11 overall
Wildness cost the Terre Haute Rex a precarious lead in the fifth inning, but thankfully for the home team Quincy returned the favor in the bottom of the ninth inning.
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