Spin Williams Wins Coolbaugh Award

Spin Williams, the longtime pitching guru for the Pirates and Nationals, on Monday was named recipient of the Mike Coolbaugh Award, given to “an individual who has shown outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players on the field.”

MIKE COOLBAUGH AWARD WINNERS

2008 Bobby Jones, Rangers

2009 Charlie Montoyo, Rays

2010 Woody Huyke, Pirates

2011 Mike Jirschele, Royals

2012 Johnny Goryl, Indians

2013 Mike Guerrero, Brewers

2014 Tom Wiedenbauer, Indians

2015 John Shoemaker, Dodgers

2016 Donald “Spin” Williams, Nationals

The award was named after the late Mike Coolbaugh, a coach at Double-A Tulsa (Rangers) who died in July 2007 after being struck in the head by a line drive as he stood in the first-base coach’s box.

Williams, 60, will receive the award at the Winter Meetings in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 4. He has spent the past 11 seasons with the Nats and is credited with aiding in the development of pitchers such as Stephen Strasburg, Tanner Roark, Joe Ross, Blake Treinen, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Koda Glover, Sammy Solis, A.J. Cole, Rafael Martin, Matt Grace, Drew Storen, Ross Detwiler, Jordan Zimmermann, Aaron Barrett, and Craig Stammen, among others.

Before joining the Nationals, Williams spent 27 seasons with the Pirates, including 13 as major league pitching coach.

“Spin’s commitment to not only helping our players develop as pitchers, but also to mature as men, is second to none,” Nationals assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel Doug Harris said in a statement. “For me, personally, it is an honor to know him and to work with him for as long as I have, and I’m so proud to see him earn the type of recognition he so richly deserves.”