Cash first LLWS player to manage in WS?

Well, the secret is out: If you want to go to the World Series, you should employ Rays manager Kevin Cash. He's about as good of a guarantee that you're going to be playing late into the season as you can get.

The skipper appeared in the 1989 Little League World Series for Tampa's Northside Little League -- going 2-for-7 in the tournament -- though it was the Trumbull, Conn., team that took home the championship.

Cash later appeared in the College World Series with Florida State, reaching the first round in 1998 and then losing in the final to Miami University in '99.

Cash then earned World Series rings with the Red Sox and Yankees in 2007 and '09, though he wasn't on either club's roster at the time, so didn't get to make an appearance. That means the list of players who played in the LLWS, CWS and World Series stays at three: Ed Vosberg, Jason Varitek and current Mets outfielder Michael Conforto.

But Cash is on a list of one for another accomplishment: While 14 big leaguers have played in both the LLWS and the World Series, Cash is the only one to manage a team in the World Series. Lloyd McClendon is the closest to have pulled it off, having appeared in the 1971 LLWS and having served as the Tigers' bullpen coach in the 2006 Fall Classic.

One player who may not be impressed by the accomplishment: Rays starter Tyler Glasnow. Glasnow lightly roasted his manager when he saw Cash's Little League card in Spring Training: