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CBL Rookie of the Year Matt Mann returns to Coastal Bend

April 14, 2004 - Central Baseball League (Central League)
Coastal Bend Aviators News Release


ROBSTOWN, TX – The Coastal Bend Aviators outfield will include a familiar face this summer – Matt Mann, the Central Baseball League's Rookie of the Year last season, has signed a one-year contract for the upcoming 2004 campaign. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Playing in just his second pro season, Mann did just about everything Coastal Bend asked of him in 2003 – Matt was the lone Aviators player to start all 96 games and post career highs in practically every offensive statistical category, batting .307 with five home runs and 53 runs batted in. Mann topped the Aviators with 117 hits on the year (fifth best league-wide), and finished second on the club in RBI and runs scored (49) while stealing 11 bases in 16 attempts. Matt also holds the distinction of being the first player in franchise history to hit two home runs in a single game, blasting a pair of round trippers against Amarillo on July 20, 2003. Mann not only contributed to the Aviators offensive attack – he quickly established himself as one of the top defensive outfielders in the CBL, and his efforts were rewarded following the season when the league named Matt the Daktronics Rookie of the Year for 2003.

"Matt's my kind of player," Aviators manager Glenn Wilson said Wednesday. "He's a hard worker, takes the game seriously and is always striving to improve. I'm looking for some big offense out of him and some leadership skills as well."

Prior to turning pro, Mann starred at North Dakota State University where in three years he posted a career .435 batting average (including a school record .517 average in 2001). After literally re-writing the Bisons record book, Matt played for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the independent Northern League in 2002 (batting .282 with a home run and 34 RBI) before joining the Aviators last year.



Central Baseball League Stories from April 14, 2004


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