OAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland A’s Minor League Medical Coordinator Nate Brooks has been named the Athletic Trainer of the Year in the coordinator category by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS). The PBATS Minor League Baseball Awards are given annually to one member of each of the 14 leagues in Minor League Baseball. An additional award is given to the Minor League Coordinator of the Year. Brooks becomes the first A’s medical coordinator to win the award since Jeff Collins in 2014 and 2016.
"Nate is especially deserving of this award and the recognition it brings to the job he's done in this critical role,” said A’s General Manager David Forst. “He has obviously earned the respect of his peers and colleagues the same way he has of players and staff throughout his tenure with the A's. I know that I speak for everyone with the A's in congratulating Nate on this honor and thanking him for two decades of exemplary work throughout the organization."
Brooks is currently in his seventh season as the A’s minor league medical coordinator after spending the previous four seasons as the organization’s minor league rehab coordinator. This is Brooks’ 19th season in the A’s organization, previously serving as the trainer for Single-A Stockton (2010-12), Single-A Kane County (2008-09), Short-Season Vancouver (2006-07), and Rookie-Level Arizona (2005).
Along with the 14 other winners throughout minor league baseball, Brooks is now eligible for the prestigious Minor League Athletic Trainer of the Year award, to be voted upon by the full membership of PBATS at the 2023 MLB Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn.
Brooks earned his undergraduate degree in exercise science from Murray State in 2002, and his master’s degree in biomechanics from Auburn in 2005. He is a certified member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.