Rick Stelmaszek
| Rick Stelmaszek | |
|---|---|
| Minnesota Twins – No. 43 | |
| Bullpen coach | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| debut | |
| June 25, 1971, for the Washington Senators | |
| Last appearance | |
| September 25, 1974, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Career statistics | |
| Games | 60 |
| Hits | 15 |
| Batting average | .170 |
| Teams | |
| |
Richard Francis Stelmaszek (born October 8, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball catcher, and the current bullpen coach for the Minnesota Twins.[1]
In 2011, Stelmaszek will observe his 31st consecutive season on the Minnesota coaching staff, the third-longest such tenure with the same club in baseball history. Nick Altrock spent 42 consecutive years as a coach with the same franchise, when it was the Washington Senators, between 1912 and 1953.[2] Manny Mota, who entered his 31st consecutive season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2010, currently ranks second.
Early years
Stelmaszek was drafted by the Washington Senators in the eleventh round of the 1967 Major League Baseball Draft out of Mendel High School in Chicago, Illinois. He put up respectable numbers in the minors, earning All-Star nods in 1969 and 1970. He earned a call up to the majors in 1971, but after going hitless in nine at-bats, was back in the minors within a month.
Major League career
After spending all of 1972 in the minors, Stelmaszek earned a second call to the majors in 1973. He was batting .143 in seven games with the Texas Rangers when he was dealt to the California Angels with Mike Epstein and Rich Hand for Lloyd Allen and Jim Spencer.
He started the 1974 season assigned to the Salt Lake City Angels, but was traded to the Chicago Cubs on July 28 for Horacio Pina. He hit his only career home run as a member of the Cubs on August 20 against Don Sutton.[3]
He was dealt to the New York Yankees for Gerry Pirtle prior to Spring training 1976, returned to the Rangers' organization in 1977, but never returned to the majors.
Coaching career
Stelmaszek became player/manager of the Minnesota Twins' Midwest League affiliate, the Wisconsin Rapids Twins in 1978. After retiring as a player, he remained manager of Wisconsin Rapids through 1980. He was named Midwest League Manager of the Year in 1980 after leading his team to a 77-64 record. Following the season, he joined the Twins' coaching staff.
During his coaching tenure with the Twins, which began in 1981, Stelmaszek was a member of two World Series championship teams (the 1987 and 1991 Twins) and he has worked under five different Minnesota managers. The Twins signed him to a contract extension through 2012 in November 2010.[4]
References
- ^ "Minnesota Twins Coaching Staff". MLB.com.
- ^ John Thorn and Peter Palmer, Total Baseball, p. 2,157
- ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers 19, Chicago Cubs 8". Baseball-Reference.com. August 20, 1974.
- ^ The Associated Press, November 18, 2010
- Career statistics from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs
- 1948 births
- Living people
- Major League Baseball catchers
- Washington Senators (1961–1971) players
- Texas Rangers players
- California Angels players
- Chicago Cubs players
- Hawaii Islanders players
- Denver Bears players
- Geneva Senators players
- Pittsfield Senators players
- Salt Lake City Angels players
- Salisbury Senators players
- Shelby Senators players
- Syracuse Chiefs players
- Wichita Aeros players
- Tucson Toros players
- Wisconsin Rapids Twins players
- People from Chicago, Illinois
- American people of Polish descent
- Minnesota Twins coaches
- Major League Baseball bullpen coaches