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Bob Geren

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Bob Geren
Geren representing the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2018 MLB All-Star Game
Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 88
Catcher / Manager / Bench coach
Born: (1961-09-22) September 22, 1961 (age 63)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 17, 1988, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
July 26, 1993, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics
Batting average.233
Home runs22
Runs batted in76
Managerial record334–376
Winning %.470
Teams
As player
As manager
As coach
Career highlights and awards

Robert Peter Geren (born September 22, 1961) is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1988–1991) and San Diego Padres (1993). Geren managed the Oakland Athletics from 2007 through 2011. He served in various coaching capacities for the A's and New York Mets, and is currently the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bench coach.

Playing career

Geren was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the first round with the 24th pick of the 1979 draft.[1] After spending 10 years in the minor leagues, he made his major league debut for the New York Yankees in 1988, playing with New York through 1991.

He spent the first two seasons backing up Don Slaught. In 1990, he had his statistically best season as the starting Yankees' catcher. In 110 games, he had a .213 batting average with 8 home runs and 31 runs batted in.[1]

On July 1 of that year, he was the catcher when Andy Hawkins no-hit the Chicago White Sox but lost 4–0, the White Sox scoring all four runs in the eighth courtesy of three Yankee errors.[2] (With the change of the definition of a no-hitter the following year, this no-hitter would be taken off the record books.)

After spending 1992 in the minors with the Pawtucket Red Sox,[3] he played his final season of baseball in 1993 with the San Diego Padres, the team that originally drafted him.

Coaching career

Minor League manager

Geren was hired by then Boston Red Sox director of player development Bob Schaefer to manage in the Red Sox minor league system. He managed for the Red Sox from 1995 to 1998 at the Rookie and Class A levels before leaving to join the Oakland Athletics' organization. Geren managed the Athletics' Single-A affiliate Modesto A's during the 1999 season.

He next was named the first-ever manager of the Oakland Athletics' Triple-A affiliate Sacramento River Cats. Geren managed the River Cats for three seasons (2000–2002). During his managing in the Athletics' minor league system, Geren worked under A's General Manager Billy Beane, a longtime friend and former high school baseball opponent. Under Geren's management, the Rivercats won Pacific Coast League division titles in 2000 and 2001.

During the winter, Geren managed the Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Baseball League, winning the league championship in the 2001–2002 season. In February 2002, Geren led Licey to a second-place finish in the 2002 Caribbean Series held in Caracas, Venezuela. The 2002 Dominican Republic team included notable MLB players Vladimir Guerrero, Miguel Tejada, and Odalis Perez. Geren later returned to the Dominican Republic in the winter of 2005 to manage the Leones del Escogido.

Geren was called to the major leagues in 2003 where he first served as the bullpen coach for the Oakland Athletics. Geren was eventually promoted to bench coach, a position he held through 2006.

Oakland Athletics manager

Geren managing the Athletics in 2011

On November 17, 2006, Geren was promoted from his previous position as Athletics bench coach to become the 28th manager in Oakland Athletics franchise history.[4] He replaced Ken Macha, who was fired after disagreements with players and general manager Billy Beane. In 2007, Geren led the A's to a 76–86 record. In 2008, the Athletics finished the season with a 75-86 record.

In March 2009, the A's and Geren agreed to a contract extension for one year, with an additional options year.[5] During the 2010 season, the A's finished with an even .500 winning percentage (81-81 record). On September 11, 2010, MLB.com announced that Oakland had exercised Geren's option for 2011, assuring him another season in the green and gold.[6]

In May 2011, Geren's managerial style came under scrutiny by Bay Area press when reliever Brian Fuentes criticized Geren's communication style after he was replaced as the A's closer amid poor performance in the role.[7] Fuentes later apologized to Geren for going public with his comments, and A's owner Lew Wolff endorsed Geren as the A's manager.[8] Geren's last game as manager was June 9, 2011; he was subsequently fired and replaced with Bob Melvin.[9]

New York Mets

Geren as bench coach for the New York Mets during the 2015 World Series.

On October 14, 2011, the New York Mets hired Geren to be the team's new bench coach replacing former bench coach Ken Oberkfell.[10] During the 2015 season, the Mets won the National League Championship Series and played in the World Series against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals eventually won the 2015 World Series in five games.[11] During his time with the Mets, Geren was praised for his "statistical aptitude" and "strong working knowledge of advanced analytics."[12][13] Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson also complimented Geren for being "tuned into analytics."[14]

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 2, 2015, it was reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers hired Geren to be the team's new bench coach serving under new manager Dave Roberts and replacing former bench coach Tim Wallach.[15] Geren said his decision to leave the Mets for Los Angeles was fueled by a desire to be closer to his family in Southern California.[16] During the 2016 season, his first with the Dodgers, Geren coached under manager Dave Roberts, who would go on to win the 2016 National League Manager of the Year Award.[17] In 2017, the Dodgers won the National League Championship Series and played against the Houston Astros in the World Series.[18] In 2018, the Dodgers appeared in their second straight World Series and played against the Boston Red Sox.[19] Geren won his first World Series in the 2020 season, as the Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in six games.[20]

Personal life

Geren and his wife, Pam, reside in Southern California.[21] Geren has two sons, Bobby and Brett, who both played NCAA Division I baseball at Princeton University.[22]

Geren's personal life has been featured on several episodes of Spectrum SportsNet LA's television show "Backstage: Dodgers." In 2019, the program featured Geren's longtime hobby of racing cars and included footage of Geren's ride along with former racing driver Mario Andretti before the 2019 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.[23] In 2016, Geren, known as an avid cyclist, was interviewed while riding his bicycle to work at Dodger Stadium for a Dodgers home game.[24]

While with the Yankees, he appeared on the CBS daytime version of Family Feud hosted by Ray Combs with other members of his family late in 1988.[25]

Managerial record

As of November 1, 2020
Team From To Regular season record
W L Win %
Oakland Athletics 2007 2011 334 376 .470

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Bob Geren Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  2. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago White Sox 4, New York Yankees 0".
  3. ^ "1992 Pawtucket Red Sox Statistics and Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  4. ^ http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=oak&coachorstaffid=224103165435 Manager page from Official Website
  5. ^ Geren expected to get one-year deal ESPN, March 22, 2009
  6. ^ A's exercise Geren's option for 2011 MLB.com, September 11, 2010
  7. ^ Shea, John (May 25, 2011). "Geren under spotlight now". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  8. ^ Shea, John (May 25, 2011). "Lew Wolff endorses Bob Geren". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  9. ^ Saracevic, Al (June 9, 2011). "Oakland A's fire Bob Geren, replaces him with Bob Melvin". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  10. ^ Cerrone, Matthew (October 14, 2011). "Mets hire Bob Geren to be the bench coach". MetsBlog.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-16. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  11. ^ DiComo, Anthony (November 2, 2015). "Mighty KC! Royals rise in 9th, rule the World". MLB.com. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  12. ^ Rubin, Adam (November 4, 2015). "Mets coaches all invited to return; Bob Geren to get Dodgers interview". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  13. ^ Carig, Marc (November 9, 2015). "Bob Geren interviews for Dodgers' manager job". Newsday.com. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  14. ^ Mittler, Doug (September 18, 2017). "Rumor Central: Could Bob Geren be the next Mets manager?". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  15. ^ Hernandez, Dylan (December 2, 2015). "Bob Geren will be the Dodgers' next bench coach". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  16. ^ Ruben, Adam (December 4, 2015). "Bob Geren departure fueled by family matters". ESPN. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  17. ^ Axisa, Mike (November 15, 2016). "Dodgers' Dave Roberts wins 2016 NL Manager of the Year award". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  18. ^ Gonzales, Richard (November 1, 2017). "Houston Astros Defeat Los Angeles Dodgers To Take World Series Crown". NPR. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  19. ^ Doolittle, Bradford (October 23, 2013). "Red Sox vs. Dodgers: A World Series clash with historic possibilities". ESPN. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  20. ^ "Wait is over! Dodgers win 1st WS since '88". MLB.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  21. ^ Athletics Manager Bio
  22. ^ "Princeton Baseball in the Pros". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
  23. ^ https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/video/geren-goes-racing?q=ContentTags%20%3D%20%5B%22lad-media-network%22%5D%20Order%20by%20Timestamp%20DESC&cp=CMS_FIRST&p=0 Geren Goes Racing – "Backstage: Dodgers" TV show
  24. ^ Erskine, Chris (September 6, 2011). "The long-distance Dodger: 'I feel great when I get here'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  25. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iASrrGehfgY Geren's Family Feud appearance
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bob Geren.

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Dave Holt
 Utica Blue Sox manager
1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Gulf Coast League Red Sox manager
1996 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Sarasota Red Sox manager
1998 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Modesto A's manager
1999 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
first manager
 Sacramento River Cats manager
2000–2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Oakland Athletics bullpen coach
2003–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Oakland Athletics bench coach
2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New York Mets bench coach
2012–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Los Angeles Dodgers Bench Coach
2016–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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