Tony Franklin has won two championships and secured four playoff berths in his six years as the Trenton Thunder manager. He’s 99 games over .500 in regular season play. Despite this, Franklin had never won the Eastern League Manager of the Year award. Until today, when the 62-year-old skipper of the first place team in the Eastern Division was informed that he had been selected for the honor.
“I humbly accept this. This is a really, really, really nice honor,” said Franklin, whose team is 77-60 on the year. He did his best to deflect the attention away from himself, instead acknowledging how much his coaching staff has helped him throughout the year.
“But awards like these don’t happen by me being out there, there are a lot of people that go into helping guys receive these awards…my coaching staff; pitching coach Tommy Phelps, coach of everything Luis Dorante and our hitting coach extraordinare, we’ve hit like crazy, Tommy Slater. They’re all tireless workers, very experienced and passionate about what they do. They’re one of the biggest reasons why I can stand up here and accept all these accolades.
“Of course, the players are the ones that make it all possible. They’re the ones out there every single day. These guys have played tremendously well for us, and I can’t say enough about how well they’ve played this season. I know that they’ll continue to do it.”
Brian Cashman, speaking to reporters at the ceremony, referred to Franklin as an “ace” and acknowledged that “trusting him with our assets at this level has been very easy to do since he came to us.”
In addition to Franklin’s award, the Yankees and the Trenton Thunder renewed their Player Development Contract, announcing that the two will remain affiliated until 2022.
