The 2015 EBCA Convention is taking place for the first time in Lisbon, Portugal from November 13 to 15, 2015. We’ll introduce you to the speakers. Registration is possible via www.baseball-in-europe.com.
Meet the Speakers – David Turgeon – Pittsburgh Pirates
Dave Turgeon, Instruction Coordinator for the Pirates organization replaces Butch Thompson in the Lisbon line-up.
Turgeon brings a unique perspective as he spent half his coaching career in top college programs and the other half in MLB organizations. He is the final touch to a World Series quality line-up for the Convention.
Dave Turgeon has enjoyed a career in baseball that includes 13 years of professional playing experience that has spanned the globe combined with 16 years of managing and coaching experience at the professional and collegieate levels. As a player, Turgeon has a unique background of being drafted by the New York Yankees as an infielder and rising to the level of AA and then converting to pitcher and rising to the level of AAA. During his time with the Yankees Organization he had the priviledge of playing for Buck Showalter and Stump Merril as well as being part of a Carolina League Championship team. Spending the next several years overseas he converted to pitcher and ended up pitching in the AAA Mexican League as well as AAA with the Orioles Organization in 1998 almost 12 years after signing as an infielder with the Yanks. Overseas, he became a 3 time All Star in Taiwan and took home Player of the Year honors in 1998 while with the Reynoso Broncos.
Turgeon’s coaching background is also interesting as he has managed and coached at the professional level as well as coached at the collegiate level. Professionally his experience with the Indians Organization as both a manager (extended spring training, Appy League, Penn League) and coach (extended spring training bench and hitting coach) have been piggy backed by 8 years at the collegiate level (Boston College, Uconn, Duke, Virginia Tech) as an associate head coach and pitching coach at the Division 1 level. The journey has taken him to the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization the last 5 years in a Managerial role and Coordinator/Manager of their Extended Spring Training Program to now dual role Assistant Field Coordinator / Assistant Pitching Coordinator.
He is currently the Coordinator of Instruction for the whole Pirates organization.
Turgeon comes from a baseball family as he was the 3rd player drafted and signed from his immediate family. His brother Steve enjoyed a career as a player and coach with the St. Louis Cardinals and brother, Mike (Minor League Player of the Year 1978 while with Cubs) played with the Cubs and Giants Organizations. The family continues to produce baseball players and coaches as nephew Erik Turgeon was a pitcher in the Mets Organization, nephew Anthony Turgeon plays at Central Connecticut State University, niece Brianna Turgeon is a softball player at Fordham, nephew Casey Turgeon plays baseball at the University of Florida, and nephew Travis Turgeon is the Head Baseball Coach at Washington College after completing his degree and playing at Springfield College.
The Groton, CT native is a 1987 graduate of Davidson College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history. At Davidson, Turgeon was a 3 time All-Southern Conference selection at third base and earned all Southeast Region honors as a senior. In 2005 he was inducted into the Davidson Wildcats Hall of Fame and in 2006, was inducted into the St Bernard High School Hall of Fame (Uncasville, Ct.)