Article reposted from PBATS.com
Author: Sam Radbil
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 2016 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 am extremely proud 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. I’m thrilled to see the dedication and professionalism on display all throughout the minor leagues. This group represents the next wave of great Major League athletic trainers, and I couldn’t be happier to award them for their hard work and excellence both on and off the field.”
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 2016 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings in Washington, D.C.
The Major League Athletic Training Staff of the Year will also be awarded at the 2016 MLB Winter Meetings. Last season, Nate Lucero, Rex Jones and James Ready of the Houston Astros took home the award. Like the Minor League Athletic Trainer of the Year award, the Major League award is voted on by the full membership of PBATS.
Award Winners:
| League | Winner | Organization |
| Coordinator | Jeff Collins | Oakland Athletics |
| International League | John Jochim | Boston Red Sox |
| Pacific Coast League | Bradley LaRosa | Oakland Athletics |
| Eastern League | Aaron Scott | Philadelphia Phillies |
| Southern League | Geoff Swanson | Seattle Mariners |
| Texas League | Grant Hufford | Houston Astros |
| Florida State League | Justin Ahrens | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| California League | Jason Kirkman | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Carolina League | Toby Williams | Chicago Cubs |
| Midwest League | Jeff Paxson | Milwaukee Brewers |
| South Atlantic League | Dustin Vissering | Texas Rangers |
| New York–Penn League | Brian Newman | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Northwest League | Mickey Clarizio | Colorado Rockies |
| Appalachian League | Saburo Hagihara | Kansas City Royals |
| Pioneer League | Jesse Guffey | Cincinnati Reds |
| Arizona League | Teddy Blackwell | Cleveland Indians |
| Gulf Coast League | Troy Hoffert | Philadelphia Phillies |
| Dominican Summer | Darwin Tavarez | Toronto Blue Jays |