River Rat Player Profiles

    44  Chris LaBreche

Biography & Career Highlights

River Rat manager and part-time utility player Chris LaBreche is the first and only person to have led the squad since its inception in 2000.  Originally born in central New York state and raised in Philadelphia, Chicago, Wausau, and Minneapolis / St. Paul, Chris's nomadic (and some would say Bohemian) childhood exposed him to a variety of different friends, experiences, and sub-cultures.  Chris attended his first MLB game at Veteran's Stadium in Philadephia in 1974 between the L.A. Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies.  Following this, he saw games at Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field in Chicago in 1976-77, and Milwaukee County Stadium in 1981 before he moved with his family to the Twin Cities in 1982.  A Twins fan since 1984, Chris has followed the team closely since that time, enjoying their 1987 (working that year at the Metrodome as a concession stand flunky) and 1991 World Championships-- he and his wife were also Twins season ticket holders in 2005...  Chris has been involved (on and off) in baseball since 1978 when he joined his first little league team in Wausau; in 1980 and 1981 he helped his team reach the city championship game, only to lose both years...  After a short high school career (outfield and catcher) cut short by a knee injury, Frenchy took several years off to coach youth hockey, leading two teams to the Minnesota state championships in 1990-91 and 1991-92.  Following that, he was asked to take over the managing of a rag-tag amateur baseball team in St. Paul duly named the "Ol'Buddies" (after the team's former manager decided to leave.)  As skipper of the team from 1992 through 1995, Chris saw both the highs and lows of amateur baseball management, only once leading his team to within a game of the Class A championship playoffs.  From 1995-1999 Chris helped coach the Shoreview (now Tri-City) Shark with Matt Pearson, Jerry Ross, and Jim Payne (respectively) in the St. Paul Senior Men's Amateur Baseball League, winning a division title in 1997 and double elimination playoff appearances in 1998 and 1999.  Since 2000, Chris has managed the River Rats full-time with help from various individuals including Matt Pearson, Brian Rudesill, Jason and Adam Bast, Jeff Schultz, Jordan Krause, and Rob Barabe.  Hudson's 2002 state championship, fueled by excellent play from both part-time players and veterans alike, was one of Chris's amateur baseball highlights, tempered by the loss / retirement of several individuals from that squad.  The 2005 River Rat squad's performance in Ashland, Wisconsin was Chris's favorite of all time however, as it showed the courage and resolve of young and "old" players alike.  Chris graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Studies, and currently works as a Quality Control Manager for Coverall of the Twin Cities, a janitorial services franchise company in Bloomington.  Married since 2002, Chris and his wife Karalee are proud parents of their first daughter, Adeline Marie, since February 23, 2006.  The LaBreches currently live in Lakeland, Minnesota with their two dogs, Bozo and Shadow, having moved from the crime-riddled Camden neighborhood of north Minneapolis in December 2005.