Derrington Is Fired as Manager
Suns Manager Jim Derrington was fired Saturday night for the team’s poor record, General Manager Mike Begley said.
“We just had to make a change,” Begley said. “We felt we needed to go in another direction.”
The Suns were 12-31 before a 6-5 loss to the Mission Viejo Vigilantes Saturday night at Saddleback College. John Wood, the team’s 37-year-old pitching coach, has replaced Derrington and designated hitter Frank Valdez will become a player-coach.
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A marketing survey conducted during Suns’ games at Oxnard College indicated that more of the team’s fans come from Camarillo than any other city, although four other cities also provide a solid fan base.
Camarillo residents accounted for 21% of those attending home games, the survey revealed. Thousand Oaks and Ventura each accounted for 17%, Oxnard 16% and Simi Valley 14%.
“We wanted to make it a county-wide team and we’ve done that to a good extent,” Begley said.
Begley expressed disappointment, however, that more fans from Oxnard--the team’s home city--didn’t attend games.
