Bats Manager Pat Kelly Named 2025 Mike Coolbaugh Award Winner
IL Louisville Bats

Bats Manager Pat Kelly Named 2025 Mike Coolbaugh Award Winner

Published on December 8, 2025 under International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release


LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - At the Baseball Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida earlier today, Minor League Baseball announced that Louisville Bats Manager Pat Kelly has been named the recipient of the 17th annual Mike Coolbaugh Award.

The Mike Coolbaugh Award is presented annually to an individual who has shown outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players. The award was first created by Minor League Baseball in 2008 to honor Coolbaugh, a 17-year-Minor League player who was in his first year as a coach for the Tulsa Drillers at the time of his passing in 2007.

"The Mike Coolbaugh Award is the ultimate honor for those of us that work in player development. There are some tremendous past winners of this award, and I feel very humbled to be included among them," Kelly said. "It shows that your hard work has been appreciated throughout the years. The players, coaches, and staff that I've worked with in my career have allowed me to do this. And I'm especially thankful for what my family has done in supporting me each and every day."

Kelly, 70, recently completed his sixth season as Louisville manager in 2025, his 19th season as a manager in the Cincinnati Reds organization. In his six seasons at the helm in Louisville, Kelly has a record of 332-403. His 332 wins with the Bats rank second in franchise history behind Rick Sweet, who won 539 games with the Bats between 2005-11 and previously won the Mike Coolbaugh Award in 2022.

In a 37-season Minor League managerial career, Kelly has posted a career record of 2,092-2,251. In 2024, he became the seventh manager in Minor League Baseball history to win 2,000 games and currently ranks seventh all-time in managerial wins. His 2,092 wins are second among active managers.

Kelly's professional baseball career began in 1973, when he was drafted by the California Angels as a catcher out of Santa Maria High School in California. His playing career lasted over a decade, culminating in an appearance at the Major League level with the 1980 Toronto Blue Jays, where he went 2-for-7 over three games.

Immediately after retiring as a player, he began his coaching career in 1985 and made his managerial debut the next year for the Single-A Charleston Rainbows. Since then, Kelly has coached at every level of affiliated professional baseball, from rookie level through the Major Leagues. In both 2007 and 2018, he served as bench coach for the Cincinnati Reds.

In 2024, Pat's son, pitcher Casey Kelly, joined the Bats to form the first on-field duo in Louisville franchise history. Casey pitched in six games for the Bats in 2024 before his father informed him of his promotion to the Reds, where he would pitch in two Major League games. Casey spent the 2025 season in the Arizona Diamondbacks system, pitching in two Major League games while spending most of the year with Triple-A Reno.

Louisville Bats baseball returns in 2026, with Opening Night against the Omaha Storm Chasers scheduled for Friday, March 27 at Louisville Slugger Field.

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International League Stories from December 8, 2025


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