A Huge Honor: Sod Poodles Share National Sportsmanship Award
Over the years, the Amarillo Sod Poodles have won championships and plenty of different awards. Some are seemingly more important to the franchise than others, but all the awards and honors they've received have shown what a class organization they are.
The most recent one they've taken down, though, was a collaborative effort that included all their minor league teams, and it's a pretty nice award to pull down and be recognized for.
The Sportsmanship Award
The Arizona Diamondbacks, the Sod Poodles parent organization, went up against the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and San Francisco Giants for the MiLB Sportsmanship Award. This award is presented to the organization whose Minor League teams and personnel exemplified MiLB's commitment to fostering a culture of sportsmanship and professionalism on the field.
This year, that award went to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and that includes the Amarillo Sod Poodles. The other teams, Reno Aces, Hillsboro Hops, and Visalia Oaks, all get to share in this award as well. Over the past four seasons, the Diamondbacks have shown continued improvement in on-field behavior, and recorded fewer incidents in the past two seasons combined than they had in the 2023 season.
Reaction To The Award
Chris Slivka, the Diamondbacks Director of Player Development, said, “We are proud of our players and staff for earning this year’s Organizational Sportsmanship Award.” He didn't stop there as he continued, “It is a direct reflection of their commitment to our organizational standards as well as their respect for the umpires and their developmental process.”
Diamondbacks President, CEO & General Partner Derrick Hall joined the conversation by saying, “Being the second recipient of such a special recognition is a huge honor. “Respect and sportsmanship belong in our game and is something that we stress to our players and staff, as well as to all amateur athletes that we engage with through our youth programs. I am proud of our entire baseball operations staff for embracing these values from top to bottom.”
Congrats to the Sod Poodles and the entire Diamondbacks organization on such a great award.