Amarillo Sod Poodles

Minor league baseball team

Amarillo Sod Poodles

* Founded in 2019
* Amarillo, Texas

|  |

|

Team logo | Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class| Double-A (2019–present)
League| Texas League (2019–present)
Division| South Division
Major league affiliations
Team| Arizona Diamondbacks (2021–present)
Previous teams| San Diego Padres (2019–2020)
Minor league titles
League titles (2)|

* 2019
* 2023

Division titles (2)|

* 2019
* 2023

First-half titles (1)| 2019
Second-half titles (1)| 2023
Team data
Name| Amarillo Sod Poodles (2019–present)
Colors| Texas blue, Amarillo yellow, Route 66 retro blue, Texas red, white[1]

Ballpark| Hodgetown (2019–present)

Owner(s)/
Operator(s)

| Elmore Sports Group
General manager| Tony Ensor[2]
Manager| Shawn Roof

The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtown Amarillo.[3]

## History[edit]

On June 21, 2017, David G. Elmore, president of Elmore Sports Group, announced the relocation of the San Antonio Missions Double-A franchise to Amarillo in 2019, with the team set to compete in the Texas League under a new nickname.[4] This move was part of a larger relocation wherein the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the Pacific Coast League relocated to San Antonio in 2019, continuing the use of the Missions nickname at the Triple-A level, and the Helena Brewers of the rookie level Pioneer League moved to Colorado Springs.[5]

The organization officially states that team's name was decided in a name-the-team contest.[6] Five finalists were selected: "Boot Scooters," "Bronc Busters," "Jerky," "Long Haulers," and "Sod Poodles."[7] The names received negative feedback from locals over their absurd nature, but the team indicated their intention to adopt an unusual, family-friendly name.[8] Brandiose, a branding firm in San Diego, were asked to create a new identity for the team. Their staff selected the Sod Poodles name after visiting Amarillo and researching its history.[9] The name is in reference to the prevalence of prairie dogs in West Texas.[10] The name was meant to convey the values of sticking together, being family oriented, and self sufficient.[9]

Amarillo's home ballpark was named Hodgetown in honor of Amarillo pharmacist, businessman, philanthropist, and 26th Mayor of Amarillo Jerry Hodge.[11]

As the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres,[12] the Sod Poodles played their first game, a 5–2 loss, on April 4, 2019, against the Corpus Christi Hooks at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi.[13] Their first win came the next evening when they defeated the Hooks, 7–5. The winning run was scored in the top of the seventh inning when Matthew Batten tripled and later scored on a Buddy Reed single.[14] In their inaugural home opener on April 8, the Sod Poodles lost to the Midland RockHounds, 9–4 in 10 innings.[15] The opener was attended by 7,175 people.[16]

In the 2019 Texas League South Series, the Sod Poodles fell behind 2 games to none against the Midland RockHounds, before winning 3 straight games in Midland to advance to the Championship Series against the Tulsa Drillers, who defeated the Arkansas Travelers 3 games to 2.

In the 2019 Championship Series, Amarillo won game 1 by a score of 13-6 at Hodgetown, while falling 18-9 in game 2. As the series shifted to Tulsa, the Drillers took a 2 games to 1 in game 3 with a 2-0 win. The Sod Poodles battled back with a game 4 victory by a score of 3-0. In game 5, the Sod Poodles were down 3-1 in the top of the ninth before Taylor Trammell hit a grand slam to take a lead that the Sod Poodles would never relinquish, en route to a Texas League championship in their inaugural season.[17]

On December 9, 2020, the Arizona Diamondbacks extended an invitation to the Sod Poodles to become their Double-A affiliate as a part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues.[18] In a further change, they were organized into the Double-A Central.[19] In 2022, the Double-A Central became known as the Texas League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.[20]

In 2022, Veronica Gajownik coached for the Sod Poodles.[21]

In March 2023 the Sod Poodles won top team name in MiLB as voted by subscribers of The Athletic.[22] The franchise won the 2023 Minor League Baseball Organization of the Year Award.[23]

## Season-by-season records[edit]

### Texas League[edit]

Season  | PDC  | Division | Finish  | Wins | Losses | Win% | Postseason  | Manager  | Attendance

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Amarillo Sod Poodles
2019
†  | SD | South  | 2nd  | 72  | 66  | .522  | Won First-Half Southern Division title
Won Southern Division title vs. Midland RockHounds, 3–2
Won TL championship vs. Tulsa Drillers, 3–2  | Phillip Wellman | 427,791
2021  | ARI | South  | 3rd  | 59  | 61  | .492  | —  | Shawn Roof  | 316,288
2022  | ARI | South  | 2nd  | 68  | 68  | .500  | —  | Shawn Roof  | 379,039
2023
†  | ARI | South  | 1st  | 77  | 61  | .558  | Won Second-Half Southern Division title
Won Southern Division title vs. San Antonio Missions, 2–1
Won TL championship vs. Arkansas Travelers, 2–1  | Shawn Roof  | 355,440
* Division winner | † League champions

|

## Roster[edit]

Amarillo Sod Poodles roster

* v
* t
* e

Players | Coaches/Other

|

Pitchers

* 30 Luke Albright
* 14 Kyle Backhus
* 20 Jeff Bain
* 29 Hugh Fisher ~
* 24 Jackson Goddard
* 38 Conor Grammes
* 35 Josh Green
* 16 Jamison Hill
* 40 Christian Montes De Oca
* 23 Deyni Olivero
* 15 Chad Patrick
* 18 Austin Pope
* 31 Jake Rice
* 27 Andrew Saalfrank
* 25 Mitchell Stumpo
* 21 Blake Workman

|  |

Catchers

* 8 Juan Centeno
* 3 Adrian Del Castillo
* 7 Caleb Roberts

Infielders

* 28 Seth Beer
* 9 Ryan Bliss
* 13 Deyvison De Los Santos
* 26 Camden Duzenack
* 11 Jordan Lawlar
* 1 Kevin Vicuña ~
* 19 A. J. Vukovich

Outfielders

* 12 Neyfy Castillo
* 5 Nick Dalesandro
* 17 Roby Enriquez
* 10 Tim Tawa

|  |

Manager

* \-- Tim Bogar

Coaches

* \-- Ronnie Gajownik (coach)
* 32 Tom Gorzelanny (pitching)
* 33 Terrmel Sledge (hitting)

7-day injured list
* On Arizona Diamondbacks 40-man roster
~ Development list
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporarily inactive list
Roster updated January 26, 2024
Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • Texas League
→ Arizona Diamondbacks minor league players

## Minor league affiliations[edit]

Main article: List of Arizona Diamondbacks minor league affiliates

Level  | Team  | League  | Location  | Manager

|
|
|
|

Triple-A | Reno Aces | Pacific Coast League | Reno, Nevada | Blake Lalli
Double-A | Amarillo Sod Poodles  | Texas League | Amarillo, Texas | Shawn Roof
High-A | Hillsboro Hops | Northwest League | Hillsboro, Oregon | Vince Harrison
Single-A | Visalia Rawhide | California League | Visalia, California | Javier Colina
Rookie | AZL D-backs | Arizona League | Scottsdale, Arizona | Rolando Arnedo
DSL D-backs 1 | Dominican Summer League | Boca Chica, Santo Domingo | Jaime Del Valle
DSL D-backs 2 | Ronald Ramirez

## References[edit]

1. ^ Philipps, Shane (November 13, 2018). "The Sod Poodles Dig Their Way Into Amarillo". MiLB.com.
2. ^ "Opening Date for New Amarillo Ballpark: April 8". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
3. ^ Clark, Douglas (February 1, 2018). "Stepping up to the plate: Officials break ground on downtown ballpark project". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
4. ^ Reichard, Kevin (June 21, 2017). "Elmore Sports Group: Three Franchise Shifts in 2019". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
5. ^ "San Antonio to join PCL beginning in 2019". MiLB.com. June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
6. ^ Lahnert, Lance (February 1, 2018). "Residents to pick new Elmore Sports Group team name in April, MLB affiliation to be announced in fall". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
7. ^ "Finalists Unveiled for Amarillo Texas League Team Name". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. May 30, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
8. ^ Alewel, Madison (May 30, 2018). "Baseball team names strike out with Amarillo community". News Channel 10. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
9. ^ a b "How the Amarillo Sod Poodles got their logo & mascot". Inside San Diego Sports. Fox Sports San Diego. April 18, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019 - via YouTube.
10. ^ Hill, Benjamin (November 13, 2018). "Sod Poodles burrow into Texas Panhandle". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
11. ^ Philipps, Shane (January 17, 2019). "Amarillo Sod Poodles Name Downtown Ballpark "Hodgetown"". Amarillo Sod Poodles. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
12. ^ "Padres, Amarillo Agree to Affiliation". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. October 1, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
13. ^ "Sod Poodles Drop Historic Season Opener". Amarillo Sod Poodles. Minor League Baseball. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
14. ^ "Sod Poodles Secure First Win in Team History". Amarillo Sod Poodles. Minor League Baseball. April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
15. ^ "Sod Poodles Fall To RockHounds In Inaugural Home Opener". Amarillo Sod Poodles. Minor League Baseball. April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
16. ^ "RockHounds 9, Sod Poodles 4 Final Score (04/08/2019) on Gameday". Minor League Baseball. April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
17. ^ "Sod Poodles Win Texas League Championship in Inaugural Season". Amarillo Sod Poodles. September 15, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
18. ^ Reichard, Kevin (December 9, 2020). "D-Backs Unveil 2021 Affiliates; AA to Amarillo". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
19. ^ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
20. ^ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
21. ^ Liska, Larissa (June 2, 2022). "One base at a time, Gajownik makes Sod Poodles coaching history".
22. ^ "All hail the Sod Poodles, winners of Minors Madness and the top team name in MiLB".
23. ^ "MiLB Announces 2023 Award Winners". Minor League Baseball. November 8, 2023. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

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