Florence Freedom's Dennis Pelfrey is the newcomer to the Arizona Winter League. While the four other managers and pitching coach currently on board return from the league's previous seasons in Texas, the 38-year-old Frontier League skipper will be piloting an AWL team for the first time in 2016.

But Pelfrey is hardly unfamiliar with the organization. Last season four Florence players, Austin Powell, Cody Bishop, Jake Luce, and Coleman Stephens, were AWL alumni in Pelfrey's first season at the Freedom helm.

"I've always wanted to go to the AWL but wasn't a manager before," said Pelfrey, who previously had been on the coaching staff of fellow AWL skipper Greg Tagert on the Gary South Shore RailCats. "Tagert told me it was real well run. They take care of the players and the coaches; help them get chances when they were overlooked.

"And I love the weather, obviously."

Pelfrey and Tagert's relationship extends back a decade, when Pelfrey played for him on the Frontier League's Dubois County Dragons in 2001. He thrived as a utility player for the next four seasons under Tagert, literally playing every position and batting as high as .297.

"There are guys you can visualize will make good coaches and managers. Dennis was one of those," said Tagert. "What made Dennis different is he loved every aspect of the game and was involved in every aspect. He wanted to know every situation . . . He wanted to know what pitch was coming, positioning, how to chart opposing pitchers, and even strategy. You get that at the end of some players' careers, he wanted to know right from the start. He knew what every position needed to do, even what a pitcher needed to do on bunt defenses."

Pelfrey took these lessons to his first coaching position. A native Texan, Pelfrey ran a select team, the Dallas D-Backs, for three years that produced major league pitchers Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets and the Cincinnati Reds' Brandon Finnegan.

"But I won't take credit for what they've done," Pelfrey said modestly. "Hopefully they took a little piece."

After this he joined Tagert's staff, went to his hometown Fort Worth Cats in 2013 under former Chicago Cubs skipper Jim Essian as a hitting coach, and took over the reigns at Florence last season.

"I told my owner at Florence, 'I want to manage  in independent ball.' I don't want to manage in the minors. You're told who to play and what moves to make. You don't have that in independent baseball," said Pelfrey. "I tell the players that though the money isn't great, there aren't that many independent jobs. If you get one, it is precious. There's always time to work 9 to 5."

Pelfrey first became associated with independent minor league baseball when, after playing college baseball at Northwood University-Cedar Hill, he started a playing career with the old Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings of the Texas-Louisiana League under manager Eddie Dennis in 1999.

Dennis, now a coach alongside AWL pitching coach Les Lancaster with the Philadelphia Phillies' New York-Penn League affiliate in Williamsport, was an AWL manager in 2013.

Pelfrey would play in the independent minors for six seasons, batting .256 lifetime, and always seemed to find his way into the lineup despite his utility status.

In fact, if you ask Pelfrey what kind of player he's looking to find for the Freedom in the AWL, it might be something of a shadow of himself.

"I want to find competitors. Guys who will do whatever it takes who will get an opportunity and win games," he said.

And he'll give his players the green light to steal.

"My strategy is very simple- we find a way to get to first. Walk, bunt, hit, HBP, whatever. Then we want to put pressure on the defense. We want to lead the league in steals and best on going from first to third," Pelfrey said. "I didn't give one steal sign the whole year [in Florence] and we were at the top of the league in steals."

The Freedom didn't just tie for the lead in the Frontier League in steals with 146, they led the league in running attempts with 214 while amassing a 49-47 record.

But at least one roster spot won't be available on the Freedom in 2016. Newell resigned with Florence this offseason after leading the Freedom with a .330 average.

"He got the opportunity through the AWL. That's testament to [Chief Executive Officer] Jose Melendez, how he battles for the kids," Pelfrey said.