By Jason Schott – BrooklynFans.com Reporter / Assignment Editor – @JESchott19

The Brooklyn Cyclones announced their coaching staff for the upcoming 2013 season, and Manager Rich Donnelly, Hitting Coach Bobby Malek, and Pitching Coach Marc Valdez are all returning.

This will be Rich Donnelly’s third season at the helm in Brooklyn. He has led the Cyclones to the playoffs twice and has a 90-60 overall record in two seasons in Brooklyn.

Rich Donnelly is back for his third season in Brooklyn. Photo by @LolitaLens.

Donnelly began his coaching career in 1972 as a minor league manager with the Texas Rangers. He served as Rangers bullpen coach in 1980 before returning to the minors for the next two seasons.

In 1983, he began a stretch where he coached in the major leagues for 26 years. He was on Jim Leyland’s coaching staff for 14 years in Pittsburgh, Florida, and Colorado. Donnelly was the third base coach when the Marlins won the 1997 World Series.

Donnelly was a third-base coach for the Milwaukee Brewers from 2003-2005 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2006 and 2007. Following that, Donnelly was a roving instructor for Pittsburgh. He also gave motivational speeches around the country.

Bobby Malek enters his fifth season as a coach in the Mets minor league system. This is his third year as Cyclones hitting coach. He played for the Cyclones in 2002 after being drafted that year out of Michigan State. He made it as high as Triple-A Norfolk in 2006 before retiring in 2008.

Marc Valdez enters his second year as Cyclones pitching coach. In 2012, he guided the Cyclones’ pitching staff to the the best earned-run average (ERA) and the second-most strikeouts in the New York-Penn League. Valdez pitched in the major leagues for six seasons, from 1995 to 2001, with the Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos, and Atlanta Braves. This is his seventh year coaching in the Mets organization.

Cyclones General Manager Steve Cohen said in a statement, “Rich, Bobby, and Marc helped lead us to a fourth straight playoff berth in 2012, and we are excited to have them back again this season as we continue our quest for a New York-Penn League Championship.”