Jason Wood Returns as Manager of Round Rock Express
Published on December 3, 2015 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release
Round Rock Express Manager Jason Wood
(Round Rock Express)
ROUND ROCK, Texas - For the first time in three years, the Round Rock Express will have a familiar face at the helm in manager Jason Wood as the Texas Rangers announced their minor league coaching staffs Thursday afternoon. Also returning from the 2015 staff is coach Geno Petralli and strength and conditioning coach Ric Mabie.
New to the staff in 2016 is hitting coach Jim Presley, pitching coach Greg Hibbard and trainer Carlos Olivas. Former Express hitting coach Justin Mashore and pitching coach Brad Holman joined the Rangers major league staff as assistant hitting coach and bullpen coach, respectively. Former trainer Jason Roberts was named the Rangers medical coordinator.
Wood, 45, led the Express to a 78-66 record en route to capturing the PCL American Conference title in his first Triple-A season. It was the first time Round Rock played in the PCL Championship since 2006. Under his leadership, the E-Train landed in first place on April 21 and stayed atop the division for 132 consecutive games. Prior to joining the Express, "Woody" was manager of the Rangers Double-A affiliate Frisco RoughRiders for one season, guiding them to the best overall record in the Texas League. He made his managerial debut in 2011 with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Rangers High-A affiliate. He's had success all five seasons as manager, leading every team to a postseason appearance.
Wood played professionally for 18 seasons as an infielder from 1991-2008, including time with Oakland, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Florida. He was originally drafted by Oakland in the 11th round of the 1991 June Draft and made his major league debut with the Athletics on Opening Day 1998. He saw big league action in parts of five seasons and finished with a .245 average, five home runs and 36 RBI over 153 games.
Presley, 54, previously served as hitting coach for the Baltimore Orioles from 2011-14. Under his guidance in 2014, the O's were first in the major leagues in home runs (211) and sixth in the American League in runs scored (705) and batting average (.256). Prior to joining Baltimore, Presley spent time on both the Florida Marlins (2006-10) and Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2002) coaching staffs in a similar capacity. The Florida native was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 4th round of the 1979 June Draft. He played parts of eight seasons with Seattle (1984-89), Atlanta (1990) and San Diego (1991), batting .247 with 135 home runs and 495 RBI. He was named to the 1986 All-Star team with the Mariners.
Hibbard, 51, served as a pitching instructor at various levels of the Cleveland Indians farm system over the last 15 season, including the last two seasons with their Short-Season affiliate Mahoning Valley. Originally drafted in the 16th round of the 1986 June Draft by the Kansas City Royals, Hibbard played parts of six seasons in the major leagues, splitting time between Chicago-AL (1989-92), Chicago-NL (1993) and Seattle (1994). He had an overall record of 165-158 and an ERA of 4.05 (990.0ip/446er).
Olivas, 37, joins the Express for his first Triple-A season and eighth as a trainer in the Rangers organization. He previously served as the trainer for the RoughRiders and was named "Athletic Trainer of the Year" for the Texas League in both 2012 and 2013. He spent the 2009 and 2010 campaigns with the Rangers short-season affiliate Spokane after spending eight years in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization (2001-08).
Mabie is back for his sixth season as the Express' strength and conditioning coach and 13th season with the Rangers. Petralli is back for his second season with the Express.
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 Round Rock Express Manager Jason Wood |
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