Minor League Baseball Announces Winners of 2025 Player Development Awards

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

Minor League Baseball ™ (MiLB™) announced the selection of longtime baseball executive, manager and coach Dick Scott as the 17th winner of the Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award and Cincinnati Reds Minor League Manager Pat Kelly as the recipient of the 17th annual Mike Coolbaugh Award.

The Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award is presented to an individual with distinguished service who has been instrumental in player development. The award honors Bender as a longtime front office executive and consultant who spent 39 years with the Cincinnati Reds.

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 on the field. The award was created by Minor League Baseball in 2008 to honor the late Coolbaugh, a 17-year Minor League player who was in his first year as a coach at the time of his passing. Coolbaugh appeared in 44 Major League games with the Milwaukee Brewers (39 games in 2001) and St. Louis Cardinals (five games in 2002).

DICK SCOTT, New York Mets (Manager of the Triple-A Syracuse Mets) - Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award

Dick Scott's career in professional baseball began in 1981 as the 17th round draft choice of the New York Yankees out of Ellsworth High School in Ellsworth, Maine. As a shortstop, Scott spent eight seasons in the Yankees organization, reaching Triple-A Columbus. After signing with Oakland as a Minor League free agent in 1989, Scott reached the big leagues with the Athletics, playing in three games with the eventual World Champions. Following the 1990 season and 10 seasons as a professional player, Scott retired and immediately began a coaching, scouting and player development career that would span the next 35 years.

Scott's career in player development began the very next season in 1991 as he remained in the Athletics organization as a Manager with the Rookie-level Arizona League Athletics, whom he led to a league championship in his first season.

Scott went on to manage six seasons in the Athletics organization, with stops in Madison (1992), Southern Oregon (1993), Modesto (1994) and Huntsville (1995-96). His 1994 Modesto club went 96-40, posting a .706 winning percentage, which has not been topped in the Minor Leagues since. Scott was named the Manager of the Year in his league three times (1991 in Arizona League, 1992 in the Northwest League and 1994 in the California League). He was named USA Today Baseball Weekly Minor League Manager of the Year in 1994.

In 1997, Scott joined the Arizona Diamondbacks organization as a manager at Class-A South Bend before moving into a Major League Advance Scout role in 1998.

Following the 2001 season, Scott became the Director of Player Development for the Toronto Blue Jays, a role he held through the 2009 season. In 2010, he joined the Houston Astros organization as their Minor League Field Coordinator. From 2011 through 2012, he served as the New York Mets' Minor League Field Coordinator, before serving as their Director of Player Development from 2013-15.

In 2016, Scott joined Major League coaching staff as Bench Coach for two seasons. In 2018, he joined the Miami Marlins as Director of Player Development for three seasons. During the 2021-2022 seasons, he served as the Mets' Coordinator of Coaching Development and Instruction before being named Manager of Triple-A Syracuse for the last three seasons.

Dick and his wife, Kristin, have two sons, Ryan and Zach, along with two grandchildren, Carter and Marley. They reside in Ellsworth, Maine.

"It's a great honor to receive such a prestigious award and to be associated with the previous winners of the Bender Award, many of whom are some of the most impactful people in the game, so it really means a lot," said Scott. "I know most of the previous winners of this award and have strong relationships with so many of them, it means the world to me to be associated with that group. The journey in professional baseball can be challenging at times, but it's the people that make it great, whether its players, coaches, staff, front office, it's those people that make the journey so special and I'm very appreciative for this career and this honor. I'm especially grateful to my wife, Kris, and my entire family for their support throughout my career."

PREVIOUS SHELDON "CHIEF" BENDER AWARD WINNERS

2008 Jim Rantz, Minnesota Twins

2009 Keith Lieppman, Oakland Athletics

2010 Mark Newman, New York Yankees

2011 Bob Gebhard, Arizona Diamondbacks

2012 Mitch Lukevics, Tampa Bay Rays

2013 Brian Graham, Baltimore Orioles

2014 Lois Hudson, Cincinnati Reds

2015 Buddy Bell, Chicago White Sox

2016 Dan Lunetta, Detroit Tigers

2017 Grady Fuson, Oakland Athletics

2018 Steve Cobb, Arizona Fall League

2019 Junior Noboa, Arizona Diamondbacks

2021 Mike Bell, Minnesota Twins

2022 Gary LaRocque, St. Louis Cardinals

2023 Lee McDaniel, Philadelphia Phillies

2024 Raquel Ferreira, Boston Red Sox

PAT KELLY, Cincinnati Reds (Manager of Triple-A Louisville) - Mike Coolbaugh Award

Pat Kelly began his baseball career in 1973 as a third-round pick of the California Angels out of Santa Maria High School in Santa Maria, California. As a catcher, he played 13 professional seasons and reached the big leagues with Toronto in 1980.

In 1984, he began a coaching and managerial career that has spanned 42 years, with the last seven coming as Manager of the Triple-A Louisville Bats. His 2,092 managerial wins in the minors is second among active managers (Nashville's Rick Sweet leads with 2,438) and seventh-most all-time.

Kelly's coaching career started in 1984 with the Gulf Coast League White Sox before moving up to the Glens Falls White Sox in 1985. He began his managerial career in 1986 in the San Diego Padres organization with Low-A Charleston before moving up to High-A Reno in 1987. Following two seasons in Wichita (1988-89), he was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas in 1990.

Kelly then joined the Montreal Expos organizations for two seasons (1991-92) before a two-year stint in the Cincinnati Reds system (1993-94). He returned to the Expos for four years from 1995-98, before returning to the Blue Jays organization in 1999. Kelly was just into his second year managing Triple-A Syracuse in 2000 when he became a scout for the Blue Jays for the remainder of that season and the next two.

In 2003, he began a three-year stretch in the Atlanta Braves organization, where he managed Triple-A Richmond. After spending the 2006 season as a scout for the Atlanta Braves, Kelly rejoined the Reds in 2007 and returned to the dugout, where he has spent the last 19 years.

Over the last 19 years with the Reds, Kelly has managed rookie-level teams, Single-A and Double-A clubs and has spent six of the last seven seasons managing Triple-A Louisville. He also spent part of the 2018 season as Jim Riggleman's interim Bench Coach in Cincinnati.

Kelly was the 2012 Pioneer League (Rookie-level) Manager of the Year and was named Manager of the Year for the Puerto Rican Winter League in 2016 and 2010.

His son, Casey, pitched in 30 Major League games with Atlanta, Arizona, Cincinnati, San Diego and San Francisco from 2012-2025, and his oldest son, Chris, played in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Kelly, 69, resides in Sarasota, Florida.

"First and foremost, I'd like to thank Minor League Baseball for the prestigious Mike Coolbaugh Award and I'm humbled looking at the list of previous winners, many of whom have been mentors to me," said Kelly. "This recognition isn't just mine - it's a testament to the support of my family, the countless players, coaches and staff members who've shaped my journey in baseball."

"Dick and Pat have had a lasting impact on hundreds of players, coaches and colleagues during their careers and have devoted their lives to the game of baseball, doing so with the great character and humility embodied by the individuals these awards are named after," said Peter Woodfork, Major League Baseball's Senior Vice President of Minor League Operations and Development. "On behalf of Minor League Baseball, it is my honor to present them with these awards,"

PREVIOUS MIKE COOLBAUGH AWARD WINNERS

2008 Bobby Jones, Texas Rangers

2009 Charlie Montoyo, Tampa Bay Rays

2010 Woody Huyke, GCL Pirates

2011 Mike Jirschele, Omaha Storm Chasers

2012 Johnny Goryl, Cleveland Indians

2013 Mike Guerrero, Nashville Sounds

2014 Tom Wiedenbauer, Cleveland Indians

2015 John Shoemaker, Los Angeles Dodgers

2016 Donald "Spin" Williams, Washington Nationals

2017 Dennis Holmberg, Toronto Blue Jays

2018 Steve Turco, St. Louis Cardinals

2019 Glenn "Goose" Gregson, Boston Red Sox

2021 Roly de Armas, Philadelphia Phillies

2022 Rick Sweet, Milwaukee Brewers

2023 Bobby Cuellar, Los Angeles Dodgers

2024 Chino Cadahia, Kansas City Royals

International League Stories from December 8, 2025

• Bats Manager Pat Kelly Named 2025 Mike Coolbaugh Award Winner - Louisville Bats
• Minor League Baseball Announces Winners of 2025 Player Development Awards - IL
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