Manager of the year leads top-seeded Kansas City Monarchs into playoffs Friday night

Kansas City Monarchs manager Joe Calfapietra on Thursday was recognized as the American Association Manager of The Year for the second time.

The Monarchs, formerly the Kansas City T-Bones, set a franchise record for wins this season and open the playoffs against the Sioux City Explorers Friday night at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kan.

Calfapietra, hired in 2016, won his first Manager of the Year award here in 2018 after guiding the independent-league club to its second championship. In a five-game series, the T-Bones beat the St. Paul Saints in four games; KC also won the Northern League title in 2008.

“It’s always nice to get acknowledged by your peers for the work you’ve done,” Calfapietra said in a team news release, “but this award is truly because of the hard work and determination of our players, coaching staff and athletic trainer on a daily basis. I’m so fortunate to have great people around me not only on the field but also in the front office and ownership.”

Calfapietra, in his 21st season as a baseball manager — all at the independent level — was the first skipper in franchise history to lead the club to a .500-or-better finish in back-to-back seasons. He’s now done it four times.

This season, he guided the Monarchs to their second straight Southern Division regular-season title. They finished the regular season a league-best 69-31, winning nine of their last 10 games, and enter the postseason holding the No. 1 seed.

“We are so proud of what Joe has accomplished,” Monarchs owner Mark Brandmeyer said in the team release. “Our entire organization shares in this excitement. Joe’s passion and leadership is part of what makes the Monarchs special in Kansas City.”

The T-Bones changed ownership and re-branded as the Kansas City Monarchs this past offseason in honor of the storied Negro Leagues franchise that called Kansas City home. The original Monarchs were so good they were known as the New York Yankees of the Negro Leagues.

The T-Bones’ renaming was made possible through a partnership between Brandmeyer and Kansas City’s renowned Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The museum located in KC’s 18th and Vine District owns the rights to the Monarchs name and entered into a long-term licensing agreement with the club.