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Karl Kuehl

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Karl Kuehl
Manager/coach
Born: (1937-09-05)September 5, 1937
Monterey Park, California
Died: August 6, 2008(2008-08-06) (aged 70)
Scottsdale, Arizona
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
Teams
As manager
As coach

Karl Otto Kuehl (pronounced "keel"; September 5, 1937 – August 6, 2008) was an American professional baseball player and a scout, farm system official, coach and manager in Major League Baseball.

He also was the co-author of two books on the mental approach to baseball: The Mental Game of Baseball: A Guide to Peak Performance (1989) and A Champion's State of Mind (2005).

Montreal Expos' manager (1976)

He was named the second manager in the history of the Montreal Expos franchise, although did not complete a full season in the job being replaced with one month remaining in 1976.

Promoted after a successful stint as skipper of Montreal's top farm team, the Memphis Blues, in 1975, Kuehl had a disastrous turn as manager of the 1976 Expos, who won only 43 of 128 games (.336) and were in last place in the National League East Division when Kuehl was replaced by Charlie Fox on September 4.

Minor league career

Kuehl was born in Monterey Park, California. As a player, he was a 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 175 lb (79 kg) minor league first baseman and outfielder who batted and threw left-handed. He played in the farm system of the Cincinnati Redlegs from 1955 through 1958, rising to the Seattle Rainiers of the Open-Classification Pacific Coast League for ten games in 1957, compiling a lifetime .306 batting average.

He began his managing career at the young age of 21[1] as the player manager of the unaffiliated Salem Senators of the Class B Northwest League in 1959.

He rejoined the Reds' system in 1961 as pilot of the Class D Geneva Redlegs of the New York–Penn League. He then worked as a scout and minor league manager for the Houston Astros and the Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers before joining the Montreal Expos organization in 1971, where he managed the Double-A Québec Carnavals in 1972–73 before moving up to Triple-A Memphis.[2]

Major League coach and executive

After weathering the 1976 debacle (the Expos ultimately would lose 107 of 162 games that season), Kuehl remained in the Major Leagues as a coach with the Minnesota Twins[3] under manager Gene Mauch, whom he had replaced in Montreal. He also served under Mauch's successors, Johnny Goryl and Billy Gardner, during his six years (1977–82) with the Twins.

Kuehl then headed the player development department of the Oakland Athletics during a period (1983–95) when the A's had one of the most productive farm systems in baseball, and for two seasons (1996–97) worked in the front office of the Toronto Blue Jays. From 2001–07, Kuehl was special advisor, baseball operations, for the Cleveland Indians.

He died as a result of pulmonary fibrosis on August 6, 2008, in a Scottsdale, Arizona, hospital at the age of 70.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b The Associated Press, 2008-08-06
  2. ^ Douchant, Mike, and Marcin, Joe, eds., The Official 1976 Baseball Register. St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1976, page 403
  3. ^ Retrosheet

Managerial statistics

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
MON 1976 43 85 .336 6th in NL East – – – –
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