Former P-Rays Catcher Joins 2011 P-Rays Coaching Staff

Press Release Provided by P-Rays General Manager Jim Holland.

Former Princeton Rays’ player Josh Arhart will be returning to Princeton this summer after being hired by the Tampa Bay Rays as an additional coach for the 2011 P-Rays’ on-field staff.

Arhart, 31, will be assisting 2011 P-Rays’ hitting coach Wuarnner Rincones with hitting instruction as well as working with the team’s catchers.

The Santa Ana, CA native was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Rays on June 14, 2002 after hitting .363 with 37 RBI in his senior season at UCLA. He then made his playing debut as a professional as a catcher/first baseman on the 2002 edition of the P-Rays. It was a successful entry as he hit .300 (60-200) with four homers and 31 RBI in 55 games for the 2002 Princeton squad. Arhart then played five additional seasons in the Rays’ farm system (including a three-game rehab appearance in Princeton in 2007) and finished his Rays’ tenure as a .277 career hitter in 473 games with 39 homers and 245 RBI. He then finished his playing career by playing in the independent leagues for three years. His time as a player concluded on a high note in 2010, when he hit a sizzling .352 with 17 homers and 55 RBI in 72 games for the Victoria Seals of the Golden League.

Arhart becomes the third former Princeton player to return here as a coach, joining 1997 P-Ray Jared Sandberg and 2000 P-Ray Dan DeMent, who were the manager and hitting coach respectively for the 2009 Princeton Rays.

“Josh was certainly a fan favorite when he was here previously and was a steady player who demonstrated even then a lot of the qualities that teams look for in future coaching prospects. It didn’t really surprise me to learn he would be joining us in 2011,” commented P-Rays’ General Manager Jim Holland while making the April 17 announcement.