Sports stats

TL1 Texas League

Texas League Names Manager and Coach of the Year

August 29, 2019 - Texas League (TL1) News Release


FORT WORTH, Texas - Phillip Wellman of the Amarillo Sod Poodles has been named the Texas League's Manager of the Year and Pete Woodworth of the Arkansas Travelers has been selected as the Mike Coolbaugh Coach of the Year, according to an announcement made by Tim Purpura, the league's president, on Wednesday. The awards were voted on by the league's managers, staff and media.

Wellman, the TL Manager of the Year honoree for the second time in the past three years, joins Jackie Moore of Round Rock (2000, 2001, 2004) as the only skippers since 2000 to win the award multiple times. Wellman is in his 20th year serving as a Minor League Baseball manager and owns 1,213 career victories.

Wellman helped steer the Sod Poodles to the South Division title in the first half, and the club currently holds down first place in the second-half standings in the final week of play. In all, Amarillo owns a 69-63 record in 2019, good for a .523 winning percentage.

This is Wellman's fourth straight year piloting the San Diego Padres' Double-A organization. He previously earned Texas League Manager of the Year honors with the San Antonio Missions in 2017. The 57-year-old is in his fifth season directing a Texas League club.

Woodworth, Arkansas' pitching coach, has the Travelers boasting a league-best 2.93 ERA in 2019. The Travelers' ERA is nearly a half-run better than the next-best team (3.35) and more than a full run better than the No. 3 club (4.03). Additionally, Arkansas ranks second in the TL in strikeouts (1,207) and has issued the fewest walks (292) while posting a Texas League-best 1.12 WHIP. The Travelers have a 78-54 overall record (.591) and won the first-half North Division crown.

The last team in the Texas League to break the 3.00 mark for team ERA was Arkansas in 1992, and this year's Travelers squad is looking to become just the fourth team in the TL to accomplish the feat in the last 50 years. The 31-year-old Woodworth is in his first year on the Travelers' staff after two seasons at the Mariners' High-A affiliate (Modesto).

The Texas League's awards announcements will continue Tuesday with the Sports Turf Manager of the Year, Best Visiting Team Hotel, Best Visiting Clubhouse, Best Umpire Hotel and Best Umpire Locker Room awards will be revealed.



Texas League Stories from August 29, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central