Manitoba baseball legend and Portage la Prairie's Andrew Collier recently expanded his impressive resume.
Collier has served as the General Manager of the Winnipeg Goldeyes for the past 23 seasons. On September 16, he was honoured with the American Association Executive of the Year Award. Previously, he received the award in 2014 from the American Association and in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2009 in the Northern League.
He told PortageOnline that he is always honoured to receive such high praise, but it isn't an individual accolade.
"It's more of an organization award. One person can't win an award like that. One person can't run an organization. You have to have great people working for you, great people working with you, and I'm fortunate to have what I call the best staff in professional sports. They're all dedicated to work. They work tons of hours in the summer and tons of hours in the offseason planning the season. Without the entire organization doing what we do, that award just doesn't happen."
While the Goldeyes were defeated in the Wolf Cup Finals by the Kane County Cougars, Collier mentioned that there were many positives to build on for the future, particularly with Logan Watkins as the manager moving forward.
"He (Watkins) put together a great coaching staff and built a good team. The pitching staff was unbelievable. It probably was the best pitching staff I've ever seen as a collective group. The numbers from the team ERA to strikeouts to walks, it was a lot of fun to watch the pitching staff this year."
Collier found out he had been named Executive of the Year while heading home from Game 2 of the finals against Kane County.
"Every time I've won, it's always a surprise. This year, it was no exception. I was shocked. It's funny, I was flying back from our first two games in Kane County, and when we landed, my phone started to go crazy because the release was sent out at 2:00 p.m., and I was in the air then. When I landed, I had many congratulatory texts, emails, and calls. It was pretty cool," smiled the General Manager.
Thank you to the best fans in sports. We appreciate each and every one of you. You brought the noise during playoffs!Thank you! ❤️❤️ https://t.co/FJyZsyLu9W
— Andrew Collier🇨🇦⚾️ (@GoldeyesGM) September 18, 2024
Growing up in Portage, Collier went to school at Crescentview and then Arthur Meighen before attending the University of Manitoba and catching on with the Goldeyes Ticket Department in 1994.
He highlighted the organization's recognition of the significance of rural Manitoban fans and their influence on the game.
"Over 20,000 people came out for five home playoff games. From what our players were saying, the atmosphere here compared to other ballparks in the playoffs was second to none," he continued. "We did an analysis a few years ago, and 1/3 of our fans come from outside the perimeter. It's not just our Winnipeg fans that are important to us, but all of Manitoba."
As a member of the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame, Collier weighed in on the state of youth baseball in the province and his optimism for its future.
"All you have to do is look at Ben Onyshko. A kid who grew up in Winnipeg played for Winnipeg South, ended up playing for the Seattle Mariners AA level team for a few years, and now plays for the Goldeyes. Kids watching the Goldeyes game should look at how well Ben did for our team. He was a critical part of our team, and kids can say, 'Hey, someday I could play for the Goldeyes.' I know everybody wants to play Major League Baseball when they're growing up, but I think having a chance to play affiliated ball and play for the Goldeyes is a goal that every Manitoba baseball player could have."
The Portager, who has been with the team since the first season and in the General Manager role since 2001, voiced excitement about starting up again next year. He believes there's no better place to work than Blue Cross Park.