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Tim Wallach

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Tim Wallach
Wallach as a coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers
Miami Marlins – No. 38
Third baseman
Born: (1957-09-14) September 14, 1957 (age 67)
Huntington Park, California
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 6, 1980, for the Montreal Expos
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1996, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
Batting average.257
Home runs260
Runs batted in1,125
Teams

As coach

Career highlights and awards
Wallach as manager of the Albuquerque Isotopes, Triple-A affiliates of the Dodgers, in 2010
Tim Wallach
Medal record
Baseball
Representing  United States
Amateur World Series
Silver medal – second place 1978 Italy Team

Timothy Charles Wallach (born September 14, 1957), nicknamed "Eli" in reference to actor Eli Wallach,[1] is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1980 to 1996 for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, and California Angels. He is currently the bench coach for the Miami Marlins.

Early life

Wallach grew up in Tustin, California and attended high school at University High School in neighboring Irvine, California.[2] The young student did not attend his hometown Tustin High School and instead was enrolled at University High School in an effort by the school district to increase the student population of the then-newly opened Irvine high school.[2] There he played on the school's lower level baseball team during his freshman and sophomore years before being promoted to the varsity team for his last two years.[2] Upon graduating in 1975, the aspiring young baseball player enrolled at the nearby Saddleback College and transferred to California State University, Fullerton.[2]

Wallach participated in the 1978 Amateur World Series, representing the United States. His stat-line in the series was .395/.455/.763, while having 14 runs and runs batted in, both being the second-most in the series, with the US finishing 2nd to Cuba.[3] Though Wallach was passed over from being signed to the major leagues out of high school, he soon caught the attention of scouts as a member of the university's Titans baseball team. He led the team to its first Division I title in 1979 while being awarded the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, selected on the 1979 College Baseball All-America Team and named the Sporting News College Player of the Year.[2]

Career

Montreal Expos (1980–1992)

Wallach made his debut on September 6, 1980 against the San Francisco Giants after replacing Ron LeFlore at left field. In his first plate appearance in the top of the 5th inning, he was walked, but in his second plate appearance in the 8th, he hit a home run. Wallach and Brett Pill (September 6, 2011) are the only two players from Cal State Fullerton to hit a home run in their first at bat. Wallach appeared in four other games in that season. He appeared in 71 games in the following season, having 50 hits and 13 RBIs with a .236 batting average. He appeared in the postseason run with the Expos, appearing in five games. In Game 1 of the 1981 National League Division Series, he went 1-of-2 with a double and a walk while scoring a run. In the other four games that he appeared in, he went hitless. 1982 was his first full-time season, and he played in 158 games while having 160 hits, 28 home runs, 31 doubles, and 97 RBIs with a .268 batting average. He slightly regressed the following year, playing in 156 games while having 156 hits, 33 doubles, 19 home runs, and 70 RBIs with a .269 batting average. In 1984, Wallach played in 160 games with 143 total hits, 18 home runs, and 72 RBIs on a .246 batting average, but also had 101 strikeouts (a career high) while being named to the All-Star Game, his first. He improved the following year, playing in 155 games while also having 148 hits, 36 doubles, 22 home runs, 81 RBIs with a .260 batting average while also being selected to the All-Star Game once again. He was also awarded a Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger Award. He regressed a bit the next season, playing in 134 games while having 112 hits, 22 doubles, 18 home runs and 71 RBIs with a .233 batting average, although he led the league in being hit by pitch with 10.

In 1987, Wallach was named to the All-Star Game once again while winning a Silver Slugger Award and finishing 4th in Most Valuable Player voting, doing so in 153 games while having 177 hits, 26 home runs, 42 doubles, and 123 RBIs with a .298 batting average, with the latter three being career highs. He regressed a bit the next season, having 152 hits, 32 doubles, 12 home runs and 69 RBIs with a .257 batting average in 159 games, although he did win the Gold Glove, his second. He rebounded in 1989, being named to the All-Star Game, playing in 154 games while getting 159 hits, 42 doubles, 13 home runs and 77 RBIs with a .277 batting average. He continued his success in 1990, playing in a career high 161 games while having 185 hits, 37 doubles, 21 home runs, 98 RBIs and a .296 batting average while being named to the All-Star Game and finishing 10th in MVP voting while winning the Gold Glove for the third and final time. He was named team captain prior to the 1991 season, being the first team captain in franchise history. He regressed in production in his final two seasons with the Expos, playing in 301 combined games while having a total of 250 hits, 51 doubles, 22 home runs and 132 RBIs while hitting under .230 both seasons. On December 24, 1992, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tim Barker.[4]

Later career (1993–1996)

Wallach played in 133 games for the Dodgers, getting 106 hits (his lowest since having 112 in 1986), with 19 doubles, 12 home runs and 62 RBIs with a .222 batting average. In the strike shortened 1994 season, he played in 113 games (out of 114 that the Dodgers played), having 116 hits, 21 doubles and 23 home runs (his highest since having 21 in 1990) with 78 RBIs and a .280 batting average. He finished 18th in MVP voting. He played in just 97 games for the Dodgers in 1995, having 87 hits (his lowest since having 50 in 1981) with 22 doubles, nine home runs and 38 RBIs and a .266 batting average. He appeared in the team's postseason run, playing in each game of the NLDS. He went 1-for-12, with no RBIs as the Dodgers were swept in three. After the season ended, he signed as a free agent with the California Angels. He played in 57 games with the team, having 45 hits, seven doubles, eight home runs and 20 RBIs with 47 strikeouts on a .237 batting average. He was granted free agency on July 19, 1996, signing with the Dodgers six days later. He played in 45 games while having 37 hits, three doubles, four home runs and 22 RBIs on a .228 batting average. He appeared in the postseason run, appearing in each game of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves. He went 0-for-11 as they were swept. In his final regular season game on September 29, 1996, he went 1-for-4. In his final at bat (done in the 10th inning), he hit a single off Dario Veras of the San Diego Padres.[5]

Career statistics and achievements

In 8,099 career at-bats, Wallach had 2,085 hits. He batted .257 with 260 home runs and 1,125 RBIs. Wallach had 908 career runs scored. Wallach holds the team record for the Expos for most games played, hits, and runs batted in. He was the one of the last Major League Baseball player to wear a flapless batting helmet, after Tim Raines and Gary Gaetti and equal with Ozzie Smith.[6]

He won three Gold Glove awards for defensive excellence and two Silver Slugger awards for offensive excellence. He was named to five All-Star teams. Wallach spent the majority of his career with the Expos, forming a potent lineup with teammates Tim Raines, Gary Carter and Andre Dawson. He was voted the Montreal Expos Player of the Year in 1987, 1989 and 1990. Bill James has referred to Wallach as a "poor man's Brooks Robinson", largely because of his defensive skills.[7]

On Saturday June 21, 2014, Tim Wallach was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, in St. Marys, Ontario, along with former Montreal Expos play-by-play announcer Dave Van Horne and former Montreal Expos general manager Murray Cook.[8]

Coaching career

In 2004 and 2005, Wallach was the hitting coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers. When Grady Little became the manager and replaced Jim Tracy in December 2005, Wallach remained hitting coach until he was replaced by Eddie Murray. On January 12, 2009, he was named the manager for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes in the Dodgers organization.[9] He led the Isotopes into the playoffs with a franchise record 80 wins and was named as Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year.[10]

On November 22, 2010, he was named the new third base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In late 2013, Wallach interviewed for managerial jobs with the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners. When he missed out on those jobs, the Dodgers announced that he would be promoted to bench coach for the 2014 season.[11]

On December 4, 2015, he was announced as the new bench coach for the Miami Marlins.[12]

Family

Tim has three sons (Matt, Brett and Chad) with his wife, Lori. Matt was drafted by the Dodgers in the 22nd round of the 2007 MLB draft as a catcher out of California State University Fullerton. Brett was drafted by the Dodgers as a pitcher in the 3rd round of the 2009 MLB draft out of Orange Coast College and then traded to the Chicago Cubs in 2010. Chad was a catcher for California State University Fullerton who was selected by the Miami Marlins in the 5th round of the 2013 MLB draft and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 2014. Chad was named Miami Marlins Minor League Player of the Month for June 2014 and was the starting catcher for the South Atlantic League Northern Division All-Stars in June 2014 as a member of the Greensboro Grasshoppers. On August 25, 2017 Chad Wallach was called up by the Reds.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Actor gets to meet namesake". The Daily News. Middlesboro, Kentucky. Associated Press. 1992-09-14. p. 2.
  2. ^ a b c d e Burt, Tim (October 18, 2012). "Dodger coach Tim Wallach returns to University". Orange County Register. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  3. ^ "1978 Amateur World Series - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  4. ^ "Tim Wallach - Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org.
  5. ^ "San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score, September 29, 1996 - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. ^ La Point of It All; in Newsday; April 11, 1993; p. 07
  7. ^ Bill, James (2001). The new Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. The Free Press / Simon & Schuster.
  8. ^ "Wallach inducted into Canadian Baseball Hall". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 21, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  9. ^ "Isotopes name new manager". kob.com. 2009-01-12. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  10. ^ "Albuquerque Isotopes". MiLB.com.
  11. ^ Gurnick, Ken (November 11, 2013). "Shifting Wallach to bench, Dodgers finalize staff". mlb.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  12. ^ Spencer, Clark (December 4, 2015). "Miami Marlins hire Barry Bonds as hitting coach". Miami Herald. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by National League Player of the Month
May, 1982 		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Los Angeles Dodgers hitting coach
2004-2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach
2011-2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach
2014-2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Miami Marlins bench coach
2016-present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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