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About

Bats Manager Pat Kelly Earns 2,000th Career Win

Louisville skipper the seventh MiLB manager All-Time to reach 2K wins
July 12, 2024

Louisville Bats Manager Pat Kelly has cemented his name among Minor League Baseball’s All-Time greats. With the Bats’ 3-2 victory over St. Paul on Thursday night, Kelly picked up his 2,000th career Minor League victory. With 2,000 wins, Kelly ranks third among active Minor League Managers, behind only Myrtle Beach’s

Louisville Bats Manager Pat Kelly has cemented his name among Minor League Baseball’s All-Time greats. With the Bats’ 3-2 victory over St. Paul on Thursday night, Kelly picked up his 2,000th career Minor League victory.

With 2,000 wins, Kelly ranks third among active Minor League Managers, behind only Myrtle Beach’s Buddy Bailey (2,389) along with current Nashville and former Louisville Manager Rick Sweet (2,322). Kelly becomes the seventh Minor League manager all-time to reach the 2,000-win plateau and the first since Sweet accomplished the feat in 2019. Kelly joins Sweet and Bailey as the only Minor League managers to have earned their 2,000th Minor League win in the 21st century.

“It’s amazing. This has never been a job for me. I enjoy it every day. These guys keep me young,” Kelly said after the win. “The biggest thing for me is that you have to remember that I lost 2,000 games before I won 2,000. It says a lot about having the ability to persevere in this game.”

Kelly was doused in champagne in the clubhouse following his 2,000th career win.Cam Anderson/Louisville Bats

Kelly’s life in baseball began as a 17-year-old playing rookie ball in 1973. He would go on to reach the game’s highest level as a player for the 1980 Toronto Blue Jays, appearing in three Major League games.

Following the conclusion of his playing career in 1985, Kelly began his managerial career in 1986 with the Single-A Charleston Rainbows and has managed at the Minor League level nearly every year since. Overall, he has spent 35 seasons with 18 different affiliates as the skipper of a Minor League club, managing at every level of the Minors along the way. In between, he’s had two stints as a Major League coach for the Cincinnati Reds, first in 2007 and again in 2018.

The 2024 season is Kelly’s fifth with the Bats, not including the cancelled 2020 season. Last year, Kelly guided the Bats to a 75-73 record, the first winning record for Louisville since 2011.

Kelly will seek his 2,001st career victory as the Bats continue their series with St. Paul tonight, Friday July 11 at 7:15 p.m. at Louisville Slugger Field.