Mike Coolbaugh Award

Not to be confused with the Texas League Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Coach of the Year Award.

The Mike Coolbaugh Award is presented annually by Minor League Baseball to recognize "an individual who has shown an outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players on the field."^[1] It is usually awarded during baseball's Winter Meetings.^[2] The award, first issued in 2008, is named in honor of Mike Coolbaugh, who died when he was struck by a line drive while coaching at first base during a Tulsa Drillers game in July 2007.^[3][4]

Mike Coolbaugh Award

Sport	Baseball
League	Minor League Baseball
Awarded for	Outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players on the field
Country	United States Canada
Presented by	Minor League Baseball
History
First winner	Bobby Jones (2008)
Most recent	Rick Sweet (2022)

Two personnel from the Nashville Sounds have won the Mike Coolbaugh Award, more than any other team. Two members of the Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations have each won the award, more than any others.

Winners

 

Bobby Jones won the first Mike Coolbaugh Award in 2008.

Winners

Year	Winner	Team	Organization	Position	Ref(s).
2008	Bobby Jones	Oklahoma City RedHawks	Texas Rangers	Manager	^[5]
2009	Charlie Montoyo	Durham Bulls	Tampa Bay Rays	Manager	^[6]
2010	Woody Huyke	Gulf Coast League Pirates	Pittsburgh Pirates	Coach	^[7]
2011	Mike Jirschele	Omaha Storm Chasers	Kansas City Royals	Manager	^[8]
2012	Johnny Goryl	—	Cleveland Indians	Advisor to Player Development	^[9]
2013	Mike Guerrero	Nashville Sounds	Milwaukee Brewers	Manager	^[10]
2014	Tom Wiedenbauer	—	Cleveland Indians	Minor League Field Coordinator	^[11]
2015	John Shoemaker	Ogden Raptors	Los Angeles Dodgers	Manager	^[12]
2016	Spin Williams	—	Washington Nationals	Senior Advisor of Player Development	^[13]
2017	Dennis Holmberg	Bluefield Blue Jays	Toronto Blue Jays	Manager	^[14]
2018	Steve Turco	—	St. Louis Cardinals	Roving instructor	^[15]
2019	Glenn Gregson	—	Boston Red Sox	Latin American Pitching Advisor	^[16]
2020	None selected (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)				^[17]
2021	Roly de Armas	Florida Complex League Phillies	Philadelphia Phillies	Manager	^[18]
2022	Rick Sweet	Nashville Sounds	Milwaukee Brewers	Manager	^[2]

References

Specific

1. "Minor League Baseball Award Winners". Minor League Baseball. from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
2. "Sweet, LaRocque Win Coolbaugh, Bender Awards". Minor League Baseball. December 6, 2022. from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
3. Zolecki, Todd (December 6, 2021). "Roly de Armas Receives Coolbaugh Award". Major League Baseball. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
4. "Coolbaugh, 35, Dies After Being Struck by Ball". ESPN. July 23, 2007. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
5. "Jones Receives Coolbaugh Award". Minor League Baseball. November 17, 2008. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
6. "Lieppman, Montoyo Honored by MiLB". Minor League Baseball. November 17, 2009. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
7. "Newman, Huyke Win Top MiLB Awards". Minor League Baseball. November 15, 2010. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
8. "Gebhard, Jirschele Earn MiLB Honors". Minor League Baseball. November 14, 2011. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
9. "Lukevics, Goryl Honored by MiLB". Minor League Baseball. October 22, 2012. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
10. "Guerrero Earns Coolbaugh Honors". Minor League Baseball. November 13, 2013. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
11. "Wiedenbauer to Get Mike Coolbaugh Award". Minor League Baseball. November 17, 2014. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
12. "Raptors' Shoemaker Wins Coolbaugh Award". Minor League Baseball. November 17, 2015. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
13. "Nats' Williams Wins Coolbaugh Award". Minor League Baseball. November 14, 2016. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
14. "Coolbaugh Award Goes to Jays' Holmberg". Minor League Baseball. November 9, 2017. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
15. "Cardinals' Turco Named Coolbaugh Award Winner". Minor League Baseball. November 7, 2018. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
16. "Red Sox's Gregson Wins 2019 Coolbaugh Award". Minor League Baseball. November 6, 2019. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
17. "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
18. "De Armas, Bell Win Coolbaugh, Bender Awards". Minor League Baseball. December 6, 2021. from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.

General

• "Minor League Baseball Award Winners". Minor League Baseball. from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.