Texas Rangers to honor Andrews, Holman, and Engler at 2014 Dr Pepper Awards Dinner; Yu Darvish Unable to Attend
Event scheduled for January 24 at Gaylord Texan Resort; Tickets still remain
Arlington, Texas-The Texas Rangers today announced that the club will honor three individuals from their player development and scouting departments at the 2014 Dr Pepper Awards Dinner on Friday, January 24 at the at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine.
Tickets for the dinner, which will honor a number of baseball personalities and feature appearances by Texas Rangers past and present, can be purchased at www.texasrangers.com/awards.
Minor league pitching coaches Jeff Andrews and Brad Holman will be the co-recipients of the third annual Bobby Jones Player Development Man of the Year Award. Professional scout Scot Engler will receive the third annual Don Welke Scout of the Year Award.
Andrews will be entering his 12th season in two stints with the Texas organization in 2014. He has been the pitching coach at Double-A Frisco since 2009. Andrews was previously with the Rangers from 1986-91 with stops at Single-A Port Charlotte, Double-A Tulsa, and Triple-A Oklahoma City. He has also worked in the Seattle, San Diego, Florida, and Pittsburgh organizations.
Holman starts his second season as the pitching coach at Triple-A Round Rock in 2014, his sixth overall in the organization. He previously served as pitching coach for two years each at Low-A Hickory and High-A Myrtle Beach. Holman previously worked in the Seattle and Pittsburgh farm systems.
Engler is in his seventh year as a scout with Texas after scouting in the Montreal and Florida organizations. He has been a professional scout since 1999.
Other award recipients will include Adrian Beltre, Rangers Player of the Year; Yu Darvish, Rangers Pitcher of the Year; Martin Perez, Rangers Rookie of the Year; A.J. Pierzynski, Harold McKinney Good Guy Award; Derek Holland, Jim Sundberg Community Achievement Award; and Darren Oliver, Mark Holtz Alumni Award. Two of the newest Rangers, first baseman Prince Fielder and outfielder Shin-Soo Choo are also expected to attend.
The Dr Pepper Awards Dinner begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Net proceeds benefit the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation. For more information, please call 817-273-5030.
Pitcher Yu Darvish will be unable to attend the 2014 Dr Pepper Awards Dinner and Fan Fest presented by AT&T. Darvish issued the following statement today:
"I am honored to be the 2013 recipient of the Texas Rangers Pitcher of the Year Award. I would like to thank my teammates, the coaching staff, the front office, and most of all, the fans, for their support. Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to accept the award in person. At this time, my number one priority is preparing for the 2014 season and traveling roundtrip from Japan would be too difficult at this point in my training. I want to thank the fans for their understanding; you truly are the best fans in baseball. I am looking forward to the 2014 season and pursuing my ultimate goal: bringing a World Series Championship to Texas."