Hounds Capture Organization of the Year
The RockHounds have been named the 2011 Texas League Organization of the Year.
The announcement was made today by league president Tom Kayser.
Kayser said the award is based on a combination of "overall operations and results of each club over a particular year," along with "improvements, advances, innovations, community involvement, fan relations, sales and attendance."
"A primary factor in the selection of the RockHounds in 2011 was the ability of the club to surpass the 300,000 level of tickets sold for the first time in the history of the club," Kayser said. "That the sales staff could accomplish this in a location that has a total population of far fewer people than the number of tickets sold is nothing short of amazing."
It is the fourth time the franchise has been named the league's top organization since the award was established in 1989 (the Midland Angels won the league's Promotional Award, a forerunner of the current award, in 1988). Each of the four awards has come during the tenure of team owners Miles Prentice and Bob Richmond and general manager Monty Hoppel (see quote, below).
Kayser also pointed to the club's "Rocky Town" ballpark theme, saying "... all the elements (sign posts, the Town Hall and other innovations) fit the RockHounds persona and add an attractive and useful element to the overall experience for fans visiting Citibank Ballpark."
"Every franchise in this league is outstanding, so to be selected is a great honor," Hoppel said. "It's really a community award, for our sponsors, season ticket holders and the great fans in West Texas.
"What I'm most proud of is seeing the efforts of our staff rewarded. Their hard work and dedication to the RockHounds and the sports complex are second to none. They deserve so much credit for achieving a level of success that no one thought possible in a market this size."
As noted by the league (see above), the RockHounds' attendance figure of 308,810 is nearly three times Midland's population (111,147 according to the 2010 census). Even when including Odessa (99,940) and other surrounding communities, the club operates in one of the smallest markets in all of Double-A baseball (there are 30 AA franchises nationwide).
The award marks the fourth major honor in the last five seasons for the club, beginning with Minor League Baseball's highest accolade, the John H. Johnson Award, in 2007. Hoppel was named Texas League Executive of the Year in 2009 and Baseball America's national Minor League Executive of the Year in 2010.
"There is also an element of the long standing service that the RockHounds ownership and staff have provided to the Permian Basin for more than 20 years.
"Under the ownership of Miles Prentice and Bob Richmond and the administration of Monty Hoppel and the staff of the club, the RockHounds (and the Angels before them) have been firmly integrated into the fabric of the community through the various charitable programs, community involvement, as well as the extra events that the club sponsors."
Tom Kayser
President
Texas League
Franchise Honors & Awards
Midland Cubs
- Texas League Executive of the Year (1979) - Bill Rigney, Jr.
- The Sporting News Executive of the Year (1979) - Bill Rigney, Jr.
Midland Angels
- Texas League Executive of the Year (1986) - Bill Davidson
- The Sporting News Executive of the Year (1986) - Bill Davidson
- Texas League Promotional Award (1988)
- Texas League Organization of the Year (1990)
- Texas League Executive of the Year (1991) - Monty Hoppel
- Texas League Organization of the Year (1994)
- Texas League Executive of the Year (1995) - Monty Hoppel
- Baseball America Bob Freitas Award (Nation's Top Double-A Franchise) - 1995
Midland RockHounds
- Texas League Organization of the Year (2002)
- Texas League Executive of the Year (2002) - Monty Hoppel
- Minor League Baseball John H. Johnson Award (National Franchise of the Year) - 2007
- Texas League Executive of the Year (2009) - Monty Hoppel
- Baseball America Minor League Baseball Executive of the Year (2010) - Monty Hoppel
- Texas League Organization of the Year (2011)