Kenny Thomas is back in Williamsport, this time as a manager
Trending
Kenny Thomas was there in the clubhouse at Bowman Field when the Williamsport Crosscutters clinched the MLB Draft League first-half championship in mid-July. And of course he was there in September when the Williamsport Crosscutters defeated the Trenton Thunder, 5-4, to claim the MLB Draft League championship.
Those moments stood out vividly for Thomas. He remembers everything about that night in September and specifically, he remembers the fans that came out night in and night out for the Crosscutters.
Those fans created an atmosphere for the Crosscutters and Thomas never forgot that. And it's a large part of the reason he's glad to be the team's manager for 2025.
Thomas was named the Crosscutters' manager in early March, giving the team experience after being part of last year's championship-winning staff.
"It's really, for me, very exciting. First of all to come back to Williamsport. I really enjoyed my time there last year and last summer. I've gone through some tough times in my life," Thomas said. "I had retired when my wife got sick with cancer, when she passed away, I was kind of left with what was I going to do?"
It was during that rough time in Thomas' life when he received a call and the MLB Draft League offered Thomas a job coaching in Williamsport with the Crosscutters.
"I didn't really know until March or April where I was going. It turned out really, really good," Thomas said. "I really did enjoy Williamsport and the fans. Oh man, they're just awesome."
Winning the title last year was something special for Thomas and something he still remembers.
"That was a great night for sure. We had such a really tremendous first half. We played really well and then the second half started and things weren't going our way. It just seemed like everything was going against us," Thomas said. "We had a couple of meetings, things started kind of clicking and the players bought in. It was so great to finish strong like we did and then go onto the championship game and win that. It was just a great feeling. I know the fans loved it. The front office loved it and we loved it, for sure. It was a great night."
In the MLB Draft League and minor leagues, managers and coaches come and go every year. But Thomas returning to Williamsport gives the team experience and someone who knows what it takes to get to that championship-level and win it all. That's beneficial for the players and other coaches on the team as well.
Thomas thought last year was his time to be a manager in the MLB Draft League, but ultimately he would end up as a bench coach and a hitting coach in Williamsport. But Thomas didn't complain and did his job in those roles. Now, he's the manager and will be leading the team.
"It's amazing sometimes how things work out. A lot of times you don't think that it is the best, but it turns out to be the best. Last year when I was hired, the thought was I was going to manage one of the teams in the league," Thomas said. "It ended up with me coming there as the bench coach and hitting guy. Man, it just worked out great, it really did. It worked out great because it allowed me to learn a little bit about the league."
Thomas noted that most of the guys in the MLB Draft League are former MLB guys, either through the minor league systems or major leagues. Thomas, meanwhile, had most of his time coming in the college ranks.
"Although I worked nine years scouting in professional baseball, my coaching career was basically in college," Thomas said. "I had some success as a college coach, but getting in the league last year and getting a feel for it, each city and ballpark, learning how things worked. It was really a blessing that it all worked out like it did. It really gave me great insight to go into the season this year."
Thomas has coached 34 years in college and retired after 2021. He coached 12 years at Volunteer State Community College in Tennessee and spent 22 years at Division II USC Aiken in South Carolina, going 1,279-639 in that span. He led USC Aiken to a No. 1 ranking nationally in 2013 and 2017 and Thomas was a two-time National Junior College Athletic Association Eastern District Coach of the Year.
As a coach, Thomas has seen 60 of his players go on to be drafted professionally and he also served as a scout for the New York Yankees (1980-81), Cincinnati Reds (1981-82) and St. Louis Cardinals (1982-88).
Being a college coach and now managing the Cutters is something Thomas sees as having parallels, and he feels he can relate to the players really well.
"Thirty-four years as a head coach in college gave me a lot of experience. I think there's so many characteristics that match the college game and the MLB Draft League. I think that one of the things that I will be able to do with the guys is relate to them and the hard times, the good times," Thomas said. "I had a ton of players who played for me who went onto pro baseball. I had that experience, I kind of know what it takes and I think I can help these guys as they move forward in their career.
"But I can also help them learn how to play the game and play it correctly and that is very, very important to me," Thomas continued. "To learn exactly what it takes to be successful, exactly what it takes to win, and exactly how you should play the game and respect."
Respect is something Thomas said people will hear coming out of his mouth quite often.
"That's something you will hear out of me a lot: respect the game," Thomas said. "It's the greatest game ever invented, it's our national pastime, and we need to respect the game. That's very important for me."
Thomas' staff this year with Williamsport includes pitching coach Jesse Estrada, who is making his debut coaching professionally after 20 years pitching. He was drafted in 2004 by the Chicago Cubs and spent six seasons in the minor leagues including at the Triple-A level.
Sean Miller will return to the coaching staff for a second season. He was drafted in 2015 by the Minnesota Twins and played under Thomas at USC Aiken.