Lexington Legends’ new owners turn to former major leaguer in family to manage team
The 14th manager in the 23-year history of the Lexington Legends is a former major league baseball player who shares the same last name as the team’s new owners.
Barry Lyons, who played catcher for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels and Chicago White Sox across seven major league seasons from 1986-1995 will be the first manager for Lexington’s minor league baseball team since new owners Nathan and Keri Lyons bought the team in October.
Lyons, 62, replace P.J. Phillips, who managed the Legends the past two seasons. No Legends manager has ever stayed beyond two seasons.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been involved in many different areas of the baseball industry, and I’m thrilled to be returning to the dugout once again as Lexington’s manager,” Lyons said in a news release Thursday. “Lexington has a rich history as a sports town, and I look forward to expanding baseball’s role in the region’s overall sports story.”
Barry Lyons, the uncle of Nathan Lyons, retired from professional baseball in 1996. He spent three years as a minor league baseball manager before shifting his focus to broadcasting, serving as a TV and radio analyst for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds.
In 2015, after years of leading the effort, Barry Lyons successfully brought minor league baseball to his hometown of Biloxi, Miss. The Biloxi Shuckers are a Class AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Lyons served as team ambassador for the Shuckers, acting as the featured analyst on “Shuckers on Deck,” a live pregame show, as well as for “Baseball Basics with Barry” on social media and “Shuckers Showcase,” a monthly TV highlights show. Lyons was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
“When searching for a new manager, we wanted to find someone with a depth of experience that could be used to really enhance our organization,” Nathan Lyons said in the news release. “Barry’s experiences in baseball have equipped him with a unique understanding of all aspects of the game, and we can’t wait to see what he does with the team on the field.”
