Phillip Wellman

Phillip Wellman

Wellman managing the San Antonio Missions in 2016
Outfielder, Minor League Manager, Coach
Born: (1961-12-05) December 5, 1961
Marlin, Texas
Bats: Switch Throws: Right
MiLB statistics
Batting average .250
Home runs 36
Runs batted in 161
Coaching Win–Loss record 862-939
Winning % .479
Teams

As player

As manager

Phillip Lane Wellman (born December 5, 1962 in Marlin, Texas), is an American professional baseball coach and manager. He is currently the manager of the San Antonio Missions, Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball.[1] Wellman entered minor league baseball as a player in 1984 and began coaching in 1988. Wellman attended Sam Houston State University and Southwestern University.

Managerial career

Wellman began his coaching career with the 1988 Pulaski Braves. He was a coach in the Atlanta Braves system from 1988 to 1991, including 1990 with the Burlington Braves and 1991 with the Durham Bulls.

Wellman managed outside of the Braves organization from 1992–2003, with the exception of 2000, when he was a coach for the minor league Louisville RiverBats. He returned to the Braves as the hitting coach for the Greenville Braves in 2004-2005, and the Mississippi Braves in 2006. Wellman was the skipper of Mississippi from 2007-2010.

After the Mississippi Braves finished the 2010 season with a 63-74 record, Wellman's contract was not renewed.[2] He joined the Springfield Cardinals of the Texas League, Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, as hitting coach, and served three years (2011–2013) in that post before his appointment as manager of the Travelers, who also play in the Texas League.[3]

Umpire altercation and tirade

On June 1, 2007, Wellman gained international attention when he went on a tirade against the umpires during a game against the Chattanooga Lookouts at AT&T Field. He protested the umpire throwing his pitcher out of the game for using a foreign substance[4] by covering home plate with dirt, then tracing in the dirt a new, significantly larger home plate. He then went on to uproot bases and throw them, crawl in a prone position across the infield like a soldier, and pretend to bite and hurl the rosin bag at an umpire as if it were a hand grenade. He concluded his tirade by pretending to eject the umpires themselves with a fist-pump and then blowing a farewell kiss to the crowd while taking a bow. The episode was broadcast on sports shows across the United States and gained him widespread fame on the Internet.[4] Wellman was given a three game suspension effective June 4, 2007.

The Braves reappointed Wellman manager of the Mississippi Braves on December 7, 2007.

In March 2009, ESPN showed the top-10 meltdowns in sports history and judged Wellman’s to be #1. Upon showing the clip, Hannah Storm said “and there he goes, never to be seen from again.” Co-anchor Josh Elliott added “end of his career.” However, this was incorrect. He was still the manager and on September 13, 2008 he led the Mississippi Braves to the Southern League championship beating the Carolina Mudcats 3-2 in the 10th inning of the decisive Game 5. He was also brought up to the major league Atlanta Braves team for a couple of weeks in September 2008, tradition for top minor league managers in the Braves organization.[5]

Managerial records

Year Team League Record Finish Organization Playoffs
1992 GCL Orioles Gulf Coast League 29-29 9th Baltimore Orioles
1993 Lethbridge Mounties Pioneer League 29-44 7th Co-op
1994 Lethbridge Mounties Pioneer League 29-43 7th Co-op
1995 River City Rumblers Appalachian League 22-45 10th Co-op
1996 Winston-Salem Warthogs Carolina League 74-65 3rd Cincinnati Reds
1997 Burlington (IA) Bees Midwest League 72-68 3rd Cincinnati Reds Lost in 1st round
1998 Burlington (IA) Bees Midwest League 63-77 13th Cincinnati Reds
1999 Chattanooga Lookouts Southern League 78-62 2nd Cincinnati Reds Lost in 1st round
2001 Chattanooga Lookouts Southern League 72-67 5th Cincinnati Reds Lost in 1st round
2002 Chattanooga Lookouts Southern League 60-80 9th Cincinnati Reds
2003 Chattanooga Lookouts Southern League 66-74 8th Cincinnati Reds
2007 Mississippi Braves Southern League 67-72 6th Atlanta Braves Lost in 1st round
2008 Mississippi Braves Southern League 73-66 3rd Atlanta Braves League Champs
2009 Mississippi Braves Southern League 65-73 5th Atlanta Braves
2010 Mississippi Braves Southern League 63-74 8th Atlanta Braves
2014 Arkansas Travelers Texas League 75-65 3rd/1st[6] LA Angels Lost in 1st round

See also

References

External links

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