St. Cloud, MN – The St. Cloud Rox announced Wednesday that Augie Rodriguez will return as the organizations Field Manager for the 2019 Northwoods League season.

Rodriguez spent the 2018 season as the Director of Baseball Operations and assistant coach of the Rox. As Field Manager in 2019, he will continue his duties of overseeing all baseball operations, including managing all player personnel. Rodriguez was the Rox Field Manager from 2012 to 2017.

“I want to thank the entire Rox organization for this great opportunity to return as the Field Manager. I’m excited to continue to represent Central Minnesota and the entire Rox organization,” Rodriguez said. “This past summer my wife and I welcomed our first child (AJ) to the world. I needed to step back as a Field Manager this past season to spend more time with my family but now I’m reenergized and ready to get to work to help bring another championship to the best fans in the Northwoods League.”

Rodriguez will replace Al Newman, who was the Field Manager during the 2018 season and guided the Rox to a 37-35 record. Rodriguez will be returning for his eighth season in St. Cloud with the Rox, entering his seventh season as Field Manager.

Along with leading the Rox to their first Summer Collegiate World Series Championship in 2017, Rodriguez was named the Northwoods League Manager of the Year in 2016 after the Rox were crowned second half  North Division Champions. In 2015, Rodriguez guided the Rox to a North Division Championship with the best overall record at 51-25. During Rodriguez’s time as the Field Manager, 50 former Rox players have been drafted or signed as free agents by Major League Baseball teams.

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“It’s exciting for the entire organization to have Augie back as the Field Manager for his seventh season as the skipper of the Rox,” Rox Co-Owner and Vice President Scott Schreiner said. “From 2013 to Augie’s last season as Field Manager in 2017, no Northwoods League franchise has won more games. There have been a lot of great players and there are a lot of pieces of the puzzle to have that type of success, but the success starts with Augie’s leadership.”

During his six seasons leading the Rox as Field Manager, Rodriguez holds an overall record of 248-190, which ranks seventh in Northwoods League history for most wins by a manager. With a playoff record of 7-4, Rodriguez also ranks sixth in league history for most postseason victories.

“We’re thrilled to have Augie back for another season leading the team,” Rox General Manager Mike Johnson said. “He has proven year after year his ability to put together winning teams by bringing in great guys on and off the field.”

Along with his duties with the Rox, Rodriguez is also an Associate Scout with the Cincinnati Reds. He played six years of professional baseball starting with the Seattle Mariners, who invited him to spring training in 2003. He went on to spend two seasons in the Puerto Rican Major Winter League and a season in the European Major League before serving three seasons as a pitching coach at Augusta State and one season as pitching coach of the St. Cloud River Bats in 2011.

The Rox will open their eighth season of Northwoods League baseball in 2019. For more information regarding this release, season tickets and partial season ticket packages for the 2019 season, please contact the Rox front office at 320-240-9798 or visit www.stcloudrox.com.

The St. Cloud Rox are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, over 200 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR).  All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.stcloudrox.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rox as your favorite team.