St. Cloud, Minn. – Augie Rodriguez has signed a contract that keeps him the Field Manager of the St. Cloud Rox through the 2017 season. Rodriguez, who is entering his fifth season with the Rox, is the only the Field Manager St. Cloud has had since their inception in 2012.
Rodriguez led the Rox to a record breaking season in 2015. The Rox finished the regular season with a franchise record for wins in a season and Northwoods League best 49-23 record. The Rox won the Northwoods League North Division Championship and made their first appearance in the Summer Collegiate World Series. The Rox broke a Northwoods League record for wins in a half in 2015 by winning 30 games in the second half of the season.
“St. Cloud is only place I want to be. I love everything about the Rox and Central Minnesota. It is a great privilege to be the Field Manager of the St. Cloud Rox and I’m excited to continue to work hard and help bring Central Minnesota a championship,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez will also continue his duties as an Associate Scout for the Cincinnati Reds. Rodriguez, along with the Rox front office have already started to the build the roster for 2016. Nineteen players from the 2015 roster are eligible to return for the 2016 season. Players eligible to return are: Joe Tietjen, Collin Strall, Brett Pope, Marcus Carson, Kyle Serrano, Erik Martinez, Michael Strem, Trevor Charpie, Lucus Gilbreath, Brandson Benson, Brian Glowicki, Austin Athmann, Webb Bobo. Sheldon Miks, Ryan Kokora, Jesse Anderson, Chris Farish, Zach Pop and Gilian van Lith.
“To have Augie continue on as the Field Manager is a great thing for the entire Rox organization. He is a tireless worker who has raised the level of expectations on so many levels with our organization. Even with the great season we had I know the best is yet to come under his leadership,” said Rox Co-Owner Scott Schreiner. Rodriguez has on overall record of 153-135 in four seasons. His win totals have increased every year since the inaugural season from 29 wins in 2012 to 51 in 2016. The fans have noticed too as the Rox broke their single season attendance record with 62,019 fans attending Rox games this summer.
The St. Cloud Rox are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, the Northwoods League is the largest summer collegiate baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 130 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (KC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.stcloudrox.com.