Major League Athletic Trainers

Baltimore Orioles

Richard Bancells
Position: Head Athletic Trainer
College Attended: Biscayne College & Eastern Kentucky University(B.A.) & (M.S.)
Years in MLB: 26
Richard "Richie" Bancells, 54, was one of the recipients of the 1995 "Major League Baseball Athletic Training Staff of the Year Award." The Key West, Fla., native began his career with the Orioles’Rookie League affiliate in 1978 where he served as athletic trainer for the Class A Bluefield Orioles. He served as athletic trainer for the AAA Rochester Red Wings from 1980 to 1983. He has spent his entire Major League athletic training career with the Orioles, the last 21 years as head athletic trainer. Bancells received his master’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 1981, where he was a graduate assistant under NATA past-president Bobby Barton for EKU football, basketball and track teams. Bancells served as athletic trainer for the Major League All-Star Game in 1993 and 2004. He is a member of the Maryland Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame and currently serves as the PBATS President. In 1996, he visited Tokyo to lecture on athletic health care for the Japanese Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (JPBATS). In 2002, Bancells was a part of the Major League Baseball/Japan All- Star Tour. He presently sits on the Major League Baseball Medical Advisory Committee and during the off-season often serves as a lecturer at various seminars. Richie lives in Parkton, Md., with his wife, Carol. They have three children, Christopher, Andrea and Timothy.

Brian Ebel
Position: Assistant Athletic Trainer
College Attended: Eastern Kentucky University,Johns Hopkins Universi(B.S.), M.B.A.
Years in MLB: 10
Brian Ebel, 41, is enjoying his eleventh year in Major League Baseball. He began his career with 12 years in the Orioles farm system, working his way up through the ranks with affiliates in Bluefield, W.Va. (Rookie League); Erie, Penn. (Class A); and Hagerstown, Md. (Class AA). From 1992 to 1996, he served as the Os Head Minor League Athletic Trainer and rehabilitation coordinator in Sarasota, Fla. The Versailles, Ind. native received scholarships in 1985 from PBATS, and in 1986 from Eastern Kentucky University, his alma mater and was honored as a distinguished alumnus in 1999. In 2003, he earned an MBA degree from Johns HopkinsUniversity. In 2004, Ebel completed an administrative residency at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Ebel serves on the Major League Baseball Medical Advisory Board and the Board of Directors for United Cerebral Palsy of Central Maryland (UCP). He is a Certified member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, Maryland Athletic Trainers Association, and a member of the American College of Sports Medicine. Ebel served on the PBATS Board as the American League Assistant Athletic Trainer Representative from 1999-2005. He and his wife Nancy have two sons, Brady and Brett.