P.J. Forbes, manager

The Philadelphia Phillies named P.J. Forbes manager for Double-A Reading on November 4, 2005. He is the 22nd manager in R-Phils history.

Forbes, 40, retired from playing in spring training of 2003 and began managing in 2004. He has guided the R-Phils to a 141-140 (.502) record in his first two seasons (2006-2007). 

Forbes got his start as a skipper with the Phillies’ South Atlantic League (Lo-A) affiliate in Lakewood, NJ, where he guided the BlueClaws to a record of 126-150. In 2004 Lakewood finished with its first ever winning record (70-67) and set a franchise record by winning 39 games in the season’s second half. He was also a coach in Major League Baseball’s All-Star Futures Game in Detroit in July of 2005 and the hitting coach for the Surprise Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League of the same year. 

A 20th round pick of the California Angels in 1990, Forbes spent 13 professional seasons primarily as an infielder and made it to the Major Leagues with Baltimore in 1998 and Philadelphia in 2001. He was a career .280 Minor League hitter and was 3-for-17 as a Major Leaguer. His best season came in 1993 for Midland when he led the Texas League (AA) in runs scored (90) and registered career highs in most offensive categories, including batting average (.319), home runs (15) and RBIs (64). From 1993-1996, he was the top fielding 2nd baseman in his league three times. He spent his last three seasons (‘00-‘02) as a player in the Phillies system, hitting .288 for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and .286 for Philadelphia.

A native of Pittsburg, Kansas, Forbes is a graduate of Wichita State University, where he earned a degree in marketing. He also played for the Shockers’ 1989 NCAA National Championship baseball team. He and his wife Stephanie reside in Wichita with their three daughters and son.