Manager Luis Sojoof Venezuela is greeted by his players after being introduced prior to taking on Italy in the first round of the World Baseball Classic on March 8, 2006 at The Ballpark at Disney in Kissimmee, Florida. Sojo has been named manager of the Tiburones de La Guaira in the Liga Venezolana Beisbol Profesional. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)
Staff Reports
World Baseball Network
The Tiburones de La Guaira of the Liga Venezolana Beisbol Profesional have named former New York Yankees infielder Luis Sojo the club’s sports manager after Cesar Collins resigned on Monday.
Twelve games into the season, La Guaira is 6-6.
Collins resigned following the appointment of Alberto Diaz as the team’s general manager on Monday, posting a lengthy statement in Spanish on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter. Edgardo Alfonzo will continue to manage the team on the field.
Sojo, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays, California Angels, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, and Pittsburgh Pirates, winning the World Series with the Yankees in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000.
He played one season in the LVBP with the Cardenales de Lara in 2006-07, appearing in 54 games and batting .271/.333/.323.
Sojo has managed in the New York Yankees minor league system on and off from 2002 through 2017, leading the Double-A Norwich Navigators in 2002, the High-A Tampa Yankees from 2003 through 2013, and the Rookie level Yankees East in the Gulf Coast League in 2017. As a manager in affiliated baseball, Sojo holds a 613-542 record in 1156 games.
In 2009-10, Sojo managed the LVBP’s Cardenales de Lara, leading them to a 29-35 record and a sixth-place finish.
Daniel Alvares-Montes reported that Sojo had been working as a broadcaster for Venezuela’s Canal i, which is owned by Wilmer Ruperti, who also owns the Tiburones de La Guaira.
The Tiburones de La Guaira are back in action Tuesday night at Estadio La Rinconada against the Leones del Caracas at 6 p.m. EST. All LVBP games are streamed live with a subscription on BeisbolPlay.com.