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Dwight Lowry

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For the football player, see Dwight Lowery.
Dwight Lowry
File:Dwight Lowry (1988 Twins).jpg
Catcher
Born: (1957-10-23)October 23, 1957
Lumberton, North Carolina
Died: July 10, 1997(1997-07-10) (aged 39)
Jamestown, New York
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 3, 1984, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
April 23, 1988, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
Batting average.273
Home runs5
Runs batted in26
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Dwight Lowry [born Dwight Lowery] (October 23, 1957 – July 10, 1997) was a catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins in parts of four seasons spanning 1984–1988. Listed at 6' 3", 210 lb., he batted left handed and threw right handed.

Biography

Born in Lumberton, North Carolina, Lowry attended the University of North Carolina earning a degree in Industrial Relations before playing professional baseball. Lowry lettered with the Tar Heels in 1977, 1979, and 1980.[1] He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 11th round of the 1980 amateur draft, but did not make his major league debut until he was 26 years old.

Lowry debuted with the 1984 Detroit Tigers team that began the season with a 35–5 record, won 104 games and beat the San Diego Padres in the World Series.

As a backup for All-Star catcher Lance Parrish, Lowry appeared in 32 games for the Tigers in that season, hitting two home runs and driving in seven runs while scoring eight times. On May 20, 1984, Lowry hit his first major league home run in a 4–3 Detroit win over the Oakland Athletics. Lowry's blast was the difference in the win that extended the Tigers' record-setting start to 32–5.

In his diary of the 1984 season, Sparky Anderson wrote the following about Lowry's home run: "Dwight Lowry is a rookie catcher with us. He hit his first major league home run, so you know he'll never forget May 20." Sparky Anderson, "Bless You Boys: Diary of the Detroit Tigers' 1984 Season", p. 66. On September 29, 1984, Lowry hit his second home run in an 11–3 win over the New York Yankees. The game was the team's record-setting 104th victory of the season.

Lowry did not play in the major leagues in 1985 but returned to the Tigers in 1986, batting .307 in 56 games. His .307 average in 1986 was the second highest on the Tigers among players with at least 150 at bats. He appeared in 13 more games in 1987, when the team again won AL Eastern division.

Lowry was released by the Tigers on October 16, 1987 and signed as a free agent by the Twins on October 23, 1987. He had only seven at bats for the Twins and played his last major league game on April 23, 1988. On April 27, 1988, the Twins optioned Lowry to Portland.[2]

In between, Lowry played winter ball with the Leones del Caracas club of the Venezuelan League in the 1985–1986 season.[3] He later won the Senior Professional Baseball Association championship with the St. Petersburg Pelicans in its 1989 inaugural season.[4]

After his playing career ended, Lowry became a manager in the Tigers' minor league system. Lowry managed the Fayetteville Generals for three seasons from 1994 to 1996. In 1995, he led them to a first-place finish (86-55) in the South Atlantic League. In 1996, the team's record dropped to 76–63, though they won the second-half South Atlantic League Division Title. For his work with the Generals, Lowry was named the Detroit Tigers Player Development Man of the Year.[5]

In 1997, Lowry was assigned to manage the Jamestown Jammers of the Short Season-A New York–Penn League. On July 10, just three weeks into the NY-PL season, he died of a heart attack [6][7] at age 39 after collapsing outside his home in Jamestown, New York.[8] He died suddenly within an hour of a victory at Russell Diethrick Park.[9]

Lowry was survived by his wife, Pamela D. Lowry, two daughters (Sesilie Lowry and Amanda Lowry) and a son (Zachary Lowry).[10]

In 1997, the Detroit Tigers renamed the Player Development Man of the Year Award to the Dwight Lowry Award in his honor.[11] In 1988, he was inducted into the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Lettermen Since 1947". NORTH CAROLINA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
  2. ^ "Transactions". The New York Times. 1988-04-27. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
  3. ^ Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
  4. ^ The Trading Card Database
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ [2]
  7. ^ [3]
  8. ^ [4]
  9. ^ [5]
  10. ^ [6]
  11. ^ [7]
  12. ^ [8]
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