Pete Woodworth Named Baseball America MLB Coach of the Year
The Mariners pitching coach oversaw a staff that led the Mariners to 90 wins and a postseason berth
SEATTLE, Wash. — Baseball America today named Mariners pitching coach Pete Woodworth as its 2022 MLB Coach of the Year.
Woodworth, 34, spent the 2022 season in his third season as Mariners pitching coach. Seattle’s pitching staff went 90–72 with 40 saves and a 3.59 ERA, setting a single-season franchise record with 1,391 strikeouts.
“Woody has done an incredible job of helping our pitchers get the most out of their ability,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “Along with our bullpen coach Trent Blank, they have created an awesome environment around our pitching staff with their communication skills and baseball acumen.”
Link: Pete Woodworth Named Baseball America MLB Coach of the Year
Woodworth oversaw a Seattle pitching staff that featured a starting rotation that posted the 2nd-most quality starts (79) in the American League and a bullpen that led the AL in WHIP (1.08), opponent batting average (.207), hits-per-9 innings (6.72) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.22).
The Mariners pitching staff featured the top rookie in the American League by fWAR (3.0) in George Kirby, as well as the AL leader in strikeouts as a reliever (96) in Andrés Muñoz. Seattle had 6 pitchers record at least 7 quality starts: Robbie Ray (18), Marco Gonzales (18), Logan Gilbert (16), Kirby (11), Chris Flexen (9) and Luis Castillo (7). Six relievers posted at least 50 strikeouts, which tied a franchise record: Muñoz (96), Penn Murfee (74), Paul Sewald (72), Erik Swanson (69), Matt Festa (64) and Diego Castillo (53).
Seattle’s pitching staff improved as the season went on, leading the Majors in lowest average exit velocity (87.4 mph) during the second half of the season per Baseball Savant. From Aug. 23-Sept. 14, the Mariners starting rotation went 11–3 with a 1.68 ERA (22 ER, 117.2 IP) with 14 walks and 114 strikeouts in 20 starts, setting a franchise record for lowest starter’s ERA over a 20-game stretch.
The youngest pitching coach in the Majors during the 2022 season, Woodworth pitched collegiately at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers from 2007–10, where he ranks as the program’s all-time wins leader (25) and ranks 2nd in strikeouts (261) behind Chris Sale (293). The St. Petersburg native pitched one season in the minor leagues for the Gulf Coast League Rays in 2010, where he went 1–1 with 1 save and a 2.42 ERA (7 ER, 26.0 IP) with 9 walks and 26 strikeouts in 17 appearances.
