Robby Hammock Named Altoona Curve Manager for 2024 Season Three members of the 2023 Coaching Staff return

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Altoona Curve have announced the Curve’s 2024 coaching staff for the upcoming season.

The coaching staff will be headlined by new manager Robby Hammock.

Curve GM Nate Bowen said, “The announcement of the staff each season is one of the landmarks leading up to Opening Day on Tuesday, April 9.”

Hammock becomes the 15th manager in Altoona’s franchise history after spending the 2023 season as the leader for High-A Greensboro.

Other new faces joining Hammock in Altoona this season include Hitting Coach Brady Conlan, Pitching Coach Fernando Nieve, Integrated Baseball Performance Coach Justin Orton and Catching Coach Taylor Davis.

Hammock will be joined by three returners from the Altoona 2023 staff: Bench Coach Gary Green, Athletic Trainer Victor Silva, and Strength and Conditioning Coach Glenn Nutting.

Coach Hammock

Hammock, a former Major League catcher and infielder with the Arizona Diamondbacks, led Greensboro to a 68-61 overall record in his first year with the Pirates organization in 2023. Throughout the campaign, Hammock aided numerous Pirates prospects whose successful seasons earned them a promotion to Altoona, including Tsung-Che Cheng, Jase Bowen, Mike Jarvis, Bubba Chandler, Anthony Solometo, and Abrahan Gutierrez.

A Macon, Georgia native who starred at South Cobb High School, Hammock played 14 seasons of professional baseball. Hammock spent two years at DeKalb Junior College before accepting a scholarship to the University of Georgia, where a strong junior season led the Arizona Diamondbacks to select him in the 23rd round of the 1998 MLB Draft.

A catcher in his playing days, Hammock played in a total of 182 Major League games with the Diamondbacks across six seasons from 2003-04, 2006-08 and 2011. He made his Major League debut on April 11, 2003, where he recorded his first hit on the first pitch of his first at-bat, a single off Milwaukee’s Wayne Franklin.

Hammock’s most notable moment as a player came in 2004, when he caught Randy Johnson’s perfect game in just his 56th Major League game behind the plate. In his career, Hammock batted .254 with 122 hits, 30 doubles, 12 home runs and 48 RBI.

Hammock retired following the 2011 season but remained with the Diamondbacks organization, serving as a hitting coach with the Diamondbacks. He received his first managerial position with the Class-A Advanced Visalia Rawhide in 2014 and joined Double-A Mobile BayBears for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Arizona named Hammock to its Major League staff in November 2016 as the quality control/catching coach, a role he held through 2021. After spending the 2022 season with the San Diego Padres as the bench coach for Triple-A El Paso, Hammock joined the Pirates in 2023 as the Manager for High-A Greensboro. Hammock resides in Phoenix, Ariz., with his wife Melissa and their five children.

Pitching Coach Nieve

Pitching Coach Fernando Nieve joins the Altoona staff after spending the last two seasons in Greensboro in the same role.

A native of Puerto Cabello in Venezuela, Nieve is in his sixth season with the Pirates organization, having previously served as the pitching coach for the Low-A Southeast League champion Bradenton Marauders in 2021 and for the GCL Pirates in 2019.

Nieve was signed by the Houston Astros as a non-drafted free agent in May of 1999 and pitched professionally for 17 seasons, including 99 Major League games with the Astros and New York Mets. He went 8-11 with a 4.61 ERA in 185.2 innings in his Major League career working both in the rotation and out of the bullpen in four seasons.

Nieve resides in Pearland, Texas, with his two children.

Hitting Coach Brady Conlan

Hitting Coach Brady Conlan comes to Altoona after spending the 2023 season as the integrated baseball performance coach with Triple-A Indianapolis. It is his third season in the Pirates organization after serving as the development coach with Bradenton in 2021.

A former infielder, Conlan played at Cal State-Dominguez Hills from 2013-16, hitting .357 with 39 doubles, nine home runs, and 90 RBI in 130 games. He was drafted in the 24th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox and made his professional debut with rookie-level Great Falls in the Pioneer League.

After two seasons in the White Sox system, Conlan played one season in the Frontier League with Lake Erie before joining the coaching ranks in 2020 with the LA Dodgers as a coach in the Dominican Republic. Conlan hails from Northridge, Calif., and now resides in Chatsworth, Calif., with his wife Erin.