Malone enters his first year with the Vikings. He will assist with the Viking infielders, outfielders, and hitters. He brings an extensive college and seven-year professional background to utilize.
“Billy is a guy I played with and against, and I have the utmost respect for him as a baseball guy,” Johnson said. “As a player, he defined the hard-nosed style we strive for and it will be easy for him to convey this to our guys.”
Malone played collegiately at the College of DuPage, where he was a 2000 NJCAA All- American infielder. He transferred to NAIA Robert Morris in 2001 where he was a starting shortstop and a 20th round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Malone spent a year in the Dodgers’ system as an infielder and outfielder. In 2001, he was a member of the Great Falls Dodgers in the class A Pioneer League. In 2002, he played for the Gary South Shore Railcats (Northern League) as a third basemen. He hit a solid .262 with 13 doubles, six triples, and three home runs. A year later, he split a season between the Railcats and the North Shore Spirit (CanAm League), where he was managed by MLB alum Rich Gedman. Malone hit .333 for the Spirit. In 2004 Malone was back in the Northern League with the Kalamazoo Kings and the Schaumburg Flyers. In 2005, Malone was with an All Star outfielder with the Yuma Scorpions (Golden League) where he hit .307 with 14 doubles, five triples, and 11 home runs. He also drove in 45 runs and stole 19 bases. Malone shared Golden League All Star honors with MLB Hall of Famer Rick Henderson. Malone was again an All Star in 2006 for Yuma, hitting at a .266 clip with 20 doubles, three triples, and five home runs. He drove in 46 runs while stealing 20 bases. He finished his playing career with the Schaumburg Flyers in 2007 where he hit 15 doubles, one triple, and seven home runs, while swiping 20 bases.
Malone, who has worked as a private instructor for the Chicago White Sox Academy since 2002, has coached at the collegiate level from 2007-2008 at the College of DuPage. He’s helped numerous players move on to the four-year level.
“I’m happy to have Billy because his knowledge base is broad. He played almost every position at the professional level, and will provide some added perspective in terms of our base running and overall defensive plan. His future is in college baseball and I know he’s excited to get started,” Johnson said. am excited that he will play a big part in moving our program forward,” Johnson says.
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