’Topes bring back Hill for fifth season
Veteran closing on 1,000th game as a pro manager
Glenallen Hill, who has managed the second-most games in Isotopes team history, will return for a fifth season as manager of the Albuquerque club, the Isotopes announced on Tuesday.
Pitching coach Brandon Emanuel, hitting coach Tim Doherty, trainer Heath Townsend and physical performance coach Marcus Lefton are also returning to the staff.
Hill, who is 64 games away from managing his 1,000 th professional contest, is entering his seventh straight year as manager of the Colorado Rockies Triple-A affiliate. The 2019 season marks the 53-yearold’s 16th campaign in the Colorado Rockies organization.
Hill’s 568 games managed are the second most in Isotopes team history, 147 behind Dean Treanor’s 715. With a combined Isotopes record of 264304 (.465), Hill ranks second in managerial wins in franchise history, also behind Treanor (362).
Before entering the coaching ranks, Hill enjoyed a 13-year Major League career with the Blue Jays (1989-91), Indians (199193), Cubs (1993-94, 1998-99), Giants (199597), Mariners (1998), Yankees (2000) and Angels (2001).
Rejoining Hill will be Emanuel and Doherty, both returning for their second straight seasons.
Emanuel enters his fifth year in the Rockies organization, having spent the 2015-17 campaigns as the pitching coach for High-A Lancaster/Modesto. Before joining the Rockies, Emanuel served seven seasons as a pitching coach in the Los Angeles Angels organization (2007-13).
The 2019 season will mark Doherty’s
fourth in the Rockies organization. Before coming to the Isotopes in 2018, the 52-year-old spent the 2017 season as hitting coach for the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats and the 2016 season in the same role with Rookie Level Grand Junction. Immediately prior to joining the Rockies, he served as hitting coach for the Twins Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings from 2013-15.
Doherty was named the 2012 assistant hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox, serving under hitting coach Dave Magadan and manager Bobby Valentine. Magadan will begin his first season as Rockies hitting coach in 2019.
Townsend returns to the Isotopes as the team’s Athletic Trainer, marking his 20th season with the Rockies organization. Lefton returns to the club for his fourth campaign as the Physical Performance Coach.
The Isotopes open the 2019 season with an exhibition game against the Colorado Rockies on March 25 at Isotopes Park. Tickets go on sale Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. at the Isotopes Park Box Office and Ticketmaster.com.
Albuquerque then opens the regular season with a five-game homestand beginning April 4 at 6:35 p.m. against the Salt Lake Bees at Isotopes Park. Individual game tickets for the 2019 regular-season games go on sale March 1.