Bob File enters his first season in a dugout as a coach after nine years playing professional baseball. He will be the Explorers Pitching Coach for the 2011 season.
File was a 19th round draft choice, as a third baseman, of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998 after earning a computer science degree from Philadelphia University. He was converted to a pitcher in the minors and played nine seasons in professional baseball, including three seasons in the major leagues.
He made his MLB debut on April 14, 2001 at the SkyDome in a relief appearance against the Kansas City Royals. File picked up the win as the Blue Jays rallied in the bottom of the ninth to pull out a 5-4 victory. He finished his rookie season with 60 games pitched, a 5-3 record, a 3.27 ERA, and 38 strikeouts.
After the 2001 season, he was named the Rookie of the Year by Toronto Sports Writers and finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Overall, for the Blue Jays, File pitched in 89 career games, threw 111.1 innings, struck out 55 batters, and finished with a 6-4 overall MLB record.
At Philadelphia University, File made the Dean's list every semester and was the recipient of the schools' President Award for Academic and Athletic Leadership. He also earned multiple honors for his efforts on the diamond and set multiple school records.
In 1998, he earned ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American honors and was the NYCAC Player of the Year, while earning First Team All-Conference three times. The third baseman set a number of single-season school records in his senior year, including batting average (.542, which led the NCAA all levels), hits (90), runs (63), RBI (68), HR (19), and total bases (167). For his career, he was the school's all-time leader in nearly every hitting category, including runs (181), hits (296), triples (17) and HR (37).
While at La Salle, File will also be furthering his education, as he has enrolled in the school's Information Technology Leadership Master's program.
