May 4, 2010
ARLINGTON, Texas - Former UT Arlington baseball standout and current Kansas City Royals manager Trey Hillman has been selected as one of three members for the 2010 Southland Conference Hall of Honor, the league announced Tuesday.
Hillman will become the fourth UT Arlington representative in the Southland Hall of Honor when he joins Lamar's Billy Tubbs and Sam Houston State's Dr. Thomas F. Davis for the Class of 2010 enshrinement during the Southland Conference's annual Honors Ceremony and Dinner, June 3 at the San Luis Resort in Galveston, Texas.
Hillman follows in the footsteps of Dr. Bill Reeves (Administrator - Class of 2008), Bobby Lane (Athletics Trainer/Track Coach - Class of 2000) and C.R. Gilstrap (Football Coach/Director of Athletics - Class of 1999) as the only UTA members in the Southland Conference Hall of Honor, which began in 1999.
Hillman was a four-year student-athlete (1982-85) for the Mavericks after completing his prep career in 1981 at Sam Houston High School in Arlington. His playing days with the Mavericks made Hillman one of the greatest players in the 41-year history of the UT Arlington baseball program. His .442 batting average in 1985 led the Southland Conference and remains the top single-season batting average in school and the second-best average in conference history. Hillman is the only three-time all-conference selection in school history.
Hillman returned to his alma mater in October 2008 to receive the highest honor given by the university, a Distinguished Alumni Award. He will be on campus again this weekend and will be honored Saturday prior to the Mavericks' 2 p.m. game vs. Stephen F. Austin. Hillman's #1 jersey will be retired before his Royals play the Texas Rangers that night at 7 p.m.
"It is a great honor to be selected for the Southland Conference Hall of Honor," Hillman said. "The Southland Hall of Honor is an elite group of individuals who I feel humbled to join."
After his collegiate career came to a close, he signed a free agent contract with the Cleveland Indians in 1985. Following a professional playing career, which concluded in 1987 in Cleveland's minor league organization, Hillman spent one season scouting for the club before, at age 27, becoming the youngest minor league manager in professional baseball at that time with the New York Yankees Class-A affiliate in the Carolina League.
Hillman followed with immediate success guiding his squad to the league championship. Overall, Hillman was named manager of the year three times during his tenure in the New York Yankees organization while leading his team to eight winning seasons and four playoff appearances in 12 minor league seasons (1990-2001).
The path for Hillman and his family to the major leagues went back through his home state for one year as the director of player development with the Texas Rangers, before he accepted a managerial position with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. During his five seasons in Japan, the Nippon-Ham Fighters made three playoff appearances, which included winning the 2006 Japan Series championship and the 2006 Asian championship.
Hillman became the 15th manager in the history of the Royals on Oct. 19, 2007, and is in his third season as manager of the club. In his first two seasons, Hillman won 140 games, which is the most wins during the first two seasons by a Royals manager since Bob Boone won 145 games in 1995-1996. Hillman was named an assistant coach for the 2009 MLB All-Star Game. The American League defeated the National League, 4-3, at Busch Stadium. Hillman was also a coach at the All-Star Futures Game in 1999, while managing the New York Yankees Triple-A team in Columbus.
Off the field, Hillman and Royals general manager Dayton Moore started the Get In the Game Foundation prior to the 2009 season. Get In the Game is a tax-exempt public foundation dedicated to improving the socio-economic conditions within urban core, rural, and disaster impacted communities within the greater Kansas City area. The Foundation intends to fund programs and events that use sports, business, and civic leaders to identify, inspire, and empower young people to engage in social enterprise.
The Southland Conference Hall of Honor, established to recognize individuals who have played an instrumental role in the history, growth and development of the conference, inducted its first members in 1999. For more information on the Hall of Honor and its past inductees, visit www.southland.org.
