Phillies Minors Managers a Major Influence
By Matt Veasey
ROOKIE – GULF COAST LEAGUE (GCL) PHILLIES
Longtime organization man Roly de Armas guides the Rookie level GCL Phillies
While 63-year old ROLY DE ARMAS never reached the major leagues, he was a catcher in the Phillies minor league system from 1973-77.
On retiring, de Armas became a minor league manager in 1979 for the Phillies, guiding Helena to a 1st place finish. It was the first of 14 straight seasons managing in the Phils system for the Florida native, and he has been working in baseball at numerous levels since.
He had a few stints as a coach in the major leagues, including with both the Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, and in the Phillies 2008 World Series-winning season even spent some time with the big club as the interim bullpen coach.
The coming 2015 season in the GCL will mark his 29th season as a minor league manager or coach, with the vast majority of those in the Phillies system. It will be his 9th straight season managing the Phillies rookie level team in the Gulf Coast League.