ATLANTA (Aug. 16, 2017) – President Mark O’Neal of the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) today announced the winners of the Minor League Athletic Trainers of the Year Awards for the 2017 baseball season.
These awards are given annually to one member of each of the 16 leagues in Minor League Baseball, as well as one award for the Dominican Summer League. An additional award is given to the Minor League Coordinator of the Year.
“I’m thrilled to announce PBATS’ Minor League Athletic Trainers of the Year,” O’Neal said. “These athletic trainers have had such a huge impact on their organizations and have been named, by their peers, the best athletic trainer in their respective league. To win an award voted on by your peers is so important. It shows everyone around the league that you’re working hard and doing your job with passion and amazing skill. I couldn’t be happier to award these great athletic trainers for their hard work.”
All 16 league winners, the Dominican Summer League winner and the Minor League Coordinator of the Year will now be eligible for the prestigious Minor League Athletic Trainer of the Year award voted upon by the full membership of PBATS. That award will be given at the 2017 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla.
Award Winners:
| League | Winner | Organization |
| Coordinator | Joe Rauch | Philadelphia Phillies |
| International League | Scott Johnson | Chicago White Sox |
| Pacific Coast League | Masa Abe | Arizona D’Backs |
| Eastern League | Jeremy Heller | Cleveland Indians |
| Southern League | Tyler Moos | Cincinnati Reds |
| Texas League | Masanobu Koyanagi | Kansas City Royals |
| Florida State League | Michael Becker | New York Yankees |
| California League | Joshua Guterman | Colorado Rockies |
| Carolina League | Bobby Ruiz | Cleveland Indians |
| Midwest League | Jeffrey Paxson | Milwaukee Brewers |
| South Atlantic League | Michael Sole | New York Yankees |
| New York–Penn League | Brian Newman | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Northwest League | Mickey Clarizio | Colorado Rockies |
| Appalachian League | Kris Russell | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Pioneer League | Margaret Rall | Chicago White Sox |
| Arizona League | Randy K. Roetter | Seattle Mariners |
| Gulf Coast League | AJ Cano | New York Yankees |
| Dominican Summer | Allison Wood | Los Angeles Dodgers |
ABOUT PBATS: The mission of the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) is to serve as an educational resource for the Major League and Minor League Baseball athletic trainers. For more information, please visit www.pbats.com