Lloyd McClendon

Lloyd McClendon
Detroit Tigers – No. 8
Outfielder / Manager
Born: (1959-01-11) January 11, 1959 Gary, Indiana
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 6, 1987 for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
August 11, 1994 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Career statistics
Batting average	.244
Home runs	35
Runs batted in	154
Games managed	782
Win–loss record	336–446
Winning %	.430
Teams
As player Cincinnati Reds (1987–1988) Chicago Cubs (1989–1990) Pittsburgh Pirates (1990–1994) As manager Pittsburgh Pirates (2001–2005)

Lloyd Glenn McClendon (born January 11, 1959) is a former professional baseball player and manager, currently serving as the hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers under Jim Leyland. He played eight seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as an outfielder, and was manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2001 to 2005.

Playing career

Amateur career

In 1971, McClendon played in the Little League World Series for the Gary team, and earned the nickname "Legendary Lloyd" by homering in five consecutive at bats. While playing for Valparaiso University, he hit what is considered the longest home run at Bethel College against pitcher Robert Bjorkland's plus 90 fastball. .^{[citation needed]}

Professional career

New York Mets

McClendon was drafted by the New York Mets in the 8th round of the 1980 Major League Baseball Draft as a catcher. He began his professional baseball career with the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League. After the 1982 season, he was traded along with two other players to the Cincinnati Reds in a deal to bring Mets legend Tom Seaver back to New York.

Cincinnati Reds

1983 was the first season in which McClendon began to play significantly at positions other than catcher, playing both third and first base while with the Waterbury Reds. He continued to be used as a utility player over the next several seasons before finally breaking into the majors with the Reds in 1987.

McClendon made his major league debut on Opening Day in 1987 as a pinch hitter, He spent most of the season with the Reds, aside from a brief return to the minors with the Nashville Sounds in August. He played in 45 games, mostly as a pinch hitter, but also appeared at five different positions in the field (catcher, first base, third base, and left and right field).

1988 saw McClendon playing a similar role, although his playing time increased. He again played five positions on defense while batting .219 in 72 games overall. After the season, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Rolando Roomes.

Chicago Cubs

McClendon saw the most playing time of his major league career with the Cubs in 1989. Playing mostly left field and first base, he batted .286 with career highs in home runs with 12 and runs batted in with 40. He also scored a career-best 47 runs and even stole 6 bases.

McClendon struggled at the plate in 1990, however, playing in 49 games for the Cubs and batting an anemic .159. Late in the season, he was traded to the Pirates for a player to be named later.

Pittsburgh Pirates

McClendon played in 4 games for the Pirates at the end of 1990, going 1-for-3 at the plate. He played for the Pirates through the end of the 1994 season, spending most of his time in the outfield. He bounced back to hit .286 in 1991, but slumped to .253 in 1992 and .221 in 1993. He was hitting .239 in 1994 when the season was interrupted by a players' strike, and after the season became a free agent.

Cleveland Indians

McClendon signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians in 1995. After failing to make the team out of spring training, he was assigned to the Buffalo Bisons. He played 37 games, including his first games at third base since 1990. However, he never received a promotion to the majors, and retired after the season.

Coaching and managerial career

Pittsburgh Pirates

After retiring from playing, McClendon served as a hitting coach for the Pirates until he was appointed manager after the 2000 season, a position he held until he was fired September 6, 2005. In his five seasons as manager of the Pirates, McClendon compiled a 336–446 record.

Detroit Tigers

When Jim Leyland was hired as manager of the Detroit Tigers, he brought former player McClendon on board as bullpen coach. For the 2007 season, he was promoted to hitting coach, replacing former Pirates teammate Don Slaught . On May 28, 2010 he changed his jersey number from 12 to 19, due to Gerald Laird changing his jersey number from 8 to 12. McClendon currently wears jersey number 8.

The Tigers did not have an official bench coach until Gene Lamont was named to that position for the 2013 season, but McClendon served a part of that role as acting manager in the absence of Jim Leyland.

History of challenging umpires

McClendon has a history of challenging close calls on the diamond, and stated his belief that the Pirates didn't always get fair calls from the umpires. As he put it during the 2002 season, "I'm sure it's nothing intentional on their part. I certainly would never question their integrity. But it's human nature to relax a little and take something for granted. We've lost for so long that I think it's easy for umpires to lose respect for us and take us for granted. I've got to change that. If I get thrown out of 100 games, then I get thrown out of 100 games. I'm going to keep demanding a playing field that's equal for my players. I don't think it's wrong to demand the umpires' best effort every day."

On June 26, 2001, in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers, McClendon saw two questionable calls made against his Pirates by the first base umpire, Rick Reed. After Jason Kendall was called out at first base, McClendon went onto the field to argue the call. After being ejected from the game, McClendon tore up first base and walked off the field with it, later throwing it into the dugout. Rather than risk McClendon's wrath by retrieving the base, the field crew replaced the base with a new one. The Pirates rallied to win the game in the 12th inning, 7–6. The next day, the players mounted the base in their clubhouse. McClendon's act of anger made the No. 4 place on ESPN.com Page 2's "Coaches gone wild" list.

In the 2005 season, McClendon exhibited signs of a desire to end this tendency. During a series against the Washington Nationals at the end of June, when replays of the first base theft were being shown on the scoreboard, he said, "I don't like that being shown, I don't want people to identify (that) with me...To me, that's ridiculous. That's not who I am. That's something that happened and it should be over with."

Managerial interviews

Following their 2010 season, the Seattle Mariners interviewed McClendon, as well as several others, for their managerial position, with Seattle eventually deciding to hire Eric Wedge. On October 30, 2012, McClendon was interviewed by the Miami Marlins as a candidate to succeed Ozzie Guillen, who was fired after a single season. However, the Marlins hired Mike Redmond instead.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Baseball-Reference.com managing record

Sporting positions
Preceded by Gene Lamont	Pittsburgh Pirates Managers 2001–2005	Succeeded by Pete Mackanin
Preceded by Lance Parrish	Detroit Tigers Bullpen Coach 2006	Succeeded by Jeff Jones
Preceded by Don Slaught	Detroit Tigers Hitting Coach 2007–current	Succeeded by Incumbent