Championship Coaching Staff Returns
Manager Travis Barbary and entire coaching staff returns to OKC to guide defending Pacific Coast League champions
After a celebratory drenching from a Gatorade bucket and being handed the Pacific Coast League championship trophy, Oklahoma City manager Travis Barbary stopped to savor the moments unfolding on the field at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
Oklahoma City swept Round Rock in a best-of-three PCL Championship Series during the final week of September 2023 to win Oklahoma City’s first league title since 1996. The postgame celebration took over the infield at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark before the festivities moved into the team clubhouse.
Oklahoma City went 90–58 during the 2023 regular season and compiled the most wins for an OKC team in a single season during the Bricktown era (since 1998). The team’s 90 wins were the second-most in Oklahoma City’s Triple-A history (since 1962) behind only the 1965 89ers (91–54) and the team went on to compete in the 2023 Triple-A National Championship Game.
Barbary, 52, now returns to Oklahoma City for the 2024 season along with all members of last season’s championship-winning coaching staff, the Oklahoma City Baseball Club recently announced in conjunction with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Barbary will manage the Dodgers’ top-level affiliate for a fifth consecutive season, along with returning hitting coach Manny Burriss, pitching coaches Doug Mathis and Justin DeFratus and bench coach Chris Gutierrez.
The 2024 season will be Barbary’s 30th in the Dodgers organization as a player, staff member or coach. The native of Easley, S.C., began his time in Oklahoma City in 2019 and now has a combined record of 303–259. He’ll become just the second manager in Oklahoma City’s Triple-A history to serve as manager for five consecutive seasons and will also be tied for the second-most seasons managed with OKC overall.
Burriss, 39, enters his fourth season as the team’s hitting coach and last season helped mentor Pacific Coast League MVP Michael Busch. Between 2021–22, the team finished among the top three in the PCL in runs scored both seasons, including a team-record 949 runs in 2022. In 2022, the team drew a club-record 731 walks to lead all the Minor Leagues and drew the most walks by any Triple-A team since 2004.
Mathis, 40, and DeFratus, 36, both return to guide the club’s pitching staff after a successful 2023 which saw OKC lead the league in ERA, WHIP, opponent batting average and strikeouts while allowing the fewest runs and hits, as well as the second-fewest walks and third-fewest home runs. Mathis is back in OKC for his second season and DeFratus returns to the OKC coaching staff for a fourth straight year.
Gutierrez, 39, is back as the team’s bench coach and third base coach for a second season. Additionally, lead athletic trainer Chelsea Willette returns for a fourth season, along with athletic trainer Griffin Boyte, who returns for his second season. Paul Fournier will begin his third season as the team’s performance coach and will be assisted by Taylor Miller.
