First base coach Wayne Terwilliger returns for the Cats, his eighth year with Fort Worth and 62nd overall in professional baseball.

Twig, 84, was the team’s manager from 2003-05. He was named the Central League’s 2005 Manager of the Year after leading the Cats to a franchise-best 60 wins. The team eventually won the championship that year, their first of three consecutive league titles.

He stepped down as manager following the 2005 season and joined the Cats’ coaching staff two months later.

On June 27, 2005, Terwilliger turned 80 years old and joined the legendary Connie Mack as the only two 80-year-old managers in baseball history. When he took over the Cats in 2003, he became the oldest skipper in minor-league history.

In three years as the Fort Worth manager, Terwilliger compiled a 162-120 record and guided the team to three straight winning seasons. He was appointed Cats’ manager on Dec. 12, 2002 after spending the previous eight seasons as first base coach for the St. Paul Saints in the Northern League. Prior to that, he was a member of the Twins’ coaching staff where he witnessed World Series championships in 1987 and 1991.

After eight years of managing in the minor leagues following his playing career, Twig joined manager Ted Williams on the Washington Senators’ coaching staff in 1969 before moving to Texas in 1972. He was also a member of the Rangers’ staff from 1981-86.

Terwilliger’s professional baseball career began in 1948 and he participated in over 7,000 games as a player, manager or coach.

In May, 2006, his autobiography, Terwilliger Bunts One, was published by Globe Pequot Press.