9/3/2020 :
Thought I’d share one of the interview excerpts from the new book I’ve been working on. The 5th edition of the Phillies Annual Minor League Digest will be published this coming spring ... it’s a history of the Phillies Minor League system and will be co-authored by Larry Shenk ! There will be loads of stories and tidbits of information that perhaps many folks were not aware of ... for example there’s a chapter on the Phillies Minor League Spring Training site before Carpenter Complex existed and memories from former Phillies owner Ruly Carpenter who worked at the camp. I’m excited to eventually bring the book to the public ... a lot of work done already but a lot more to do as well ...
Here’s an example of what’s included ... this is a profile of Dominican Academy Coordinator Manny Amador who’s been in the Phillies organization for twenty seven years.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
Manny Amador :
Manny Amador began his Phillies career as a player. He began play in 1993 as a member of the Martinsville Phillies as a seventeen year old shortstop. Manny played a total of six minor league seasons reaching the Triple A level of play in 1997. He appeared in 467 minor league games and posted a .267 career batting average in 1,546 AB’s.
Following the 1998 season he turned his attention to coaching and player development. He became the hitting instructor for Phillies Dominican Summer League team in 1999 and held that position till 2001. During the 2001 season he went to Reading to finish the season as the AA level hitting coach after John Kruk’s departure there. Manny served as hitting coach for the Clearwater Phillies for the 2002 thru 2004 season and as Manager of Batavia in 2005.
In 2006 Amador took over managing the Phillies Dominican Academy operations. In addition to his administrative duties he continued to work in player development as well. From 2011 to 2016 he also served as the DSL Phillies field manager.
When the Phillies opened their own Academy building in 2017 Manny was officially named as the Dominican Coordinator, his current position. He gets great joy in his job saying that “seeing players reach their dreams is the best feeling I could ever feel.” He notes that professional baseball is challenging, especially spending extensive time away from family. As an instructor he says “when players are having tough times or struggling I always try to build positive thinking and give them support ... of course we also work our butt off every day. I try to make everyone have a strong and positive mind.”
“When a players reaches the big leagues ... first, I'm extremely happy for them. And second I'm super happy with myself and my team because I know that we just helped another guy to make his dream come true ... just to see how their life changes is amazing ... a priceless feeling !”
“Baseball has changed my perspective and life. I came from a very poor family, the Phillies became all that I had ... first as a player and after as a coach, this is the only organization that I have been with. I would like for it to really be the only one ever ... everything that my family and I have are because of the Phillies.”
Manny has spent twenty seven years in the Phillies organization, his dedication and efforts are just as priceless as the feeling he gets when a player reaches their goal. It’s all part of it !
