Yard Goats Skipper Bobby Meacham Named Manager Of The Year

HARTFORD, CT — Coming off the club's first-ever Eastern League playoff appearance, the Hartford Yard Goats began receiving postseason accolades Tuesday, as first-year skipper Bobby Meacham was named the league's Manager of the Year.

Meacham, 64, who spent all or parts of six seasons as an infielder with the New York Yankees in the 1980s, guided the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies to the first half Northeast Division championship with a 38-30 record. The team finished the season 76-60.

Seven players from this year’s roster reached the Major Leagues, the most in franchise history. The Yard Goats led the league with 207 stolen bases, ranked third in batting and hits, and were the toughest team to strike out.

"We are excited to hear that Bobby has been named Eastern League Manager of the Year," general manager Mike Abramson said. "He is well-deserving of this award for all of his accomplishments on the field, and for leading the Yard Goats to the playoffs. It was fun to watch his aggressive style of coaching, and his hard work in developing the next generation of Rockies players."

Meacham just completed his 34th consecutive season as a coach in MLB-affiliated baseball. He was named the fifth manager in Yard Goats history in January after spending the 2023 season as the bench coach for the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes in the Pacific Coast League.

He served as a coaching assistant on Joe Girardi’s Philadelphia Phillies staff from January 2020 through June 2022, and was also part of the Major League coaching staffs of the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees and Houston Astros from 2006 through 2012. The Los Angeles native spent the 2013 through 2019 seasons managing at three levels in the Toronto Blue Jays' minor league system, including three in the Eastern League for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Meacham was the third base coach for the New York Yankees in 2008, and has managed at the Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A levels of the minor leagues.