American baseball player, coach, and manager
Baseball player
Gregory Peter Biagini (March 12, 1952 – October 3, 2003) was an American player, coach and manager in minor league baseball and a hitting coach for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). During his playing career, he was listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 220 pounds (100 kg), while batting left-handed and throwing right-handed.
Career
A native of Chicago , Biagini attended Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Illinois , then played varsity baseball , varsity football , and club ice hockey at Iowa State University . He was selected in the 12th round of the 1973 MLB draft by the Montreal Expos ,[ 1] and signed with the team in mid-June.[ 2]
During his 10-year professional baseball career, 1973–1982, Biagini played seven seasons in the farm systems of Montreal and the Seattle Mariners , and five seasons in the Mexican League .[ 3] His longest stint was with the Double-A Québec Carnavals during part of 1974 and all of 1975–1977, and he later reached the Triple-A level, playing in the Pacific Coast League during 1978 and 1979.[ 3] In his seven seasons with the Montreal and Seattle organizations, he compiled a .257 batting average with 51 home runs and 282 RBIs in 594 games.[ 3] Primarily a first baseman (246 games), he also made appearances as an outfielder (152 games), third baseman (116 games), catcher (21 games), and second baseman (1 game).[ 3]
Biagini turned his hand to managing in 1983 with the Bluefield Orioles of the rookie-level Appalachian League .[ 4] He managed in the minor leagues for 14 seasons (1983–1991; 1995–1999) for Baltimore and the Texas Rangers , including eight seasons at the Triple-A level.[ 3] He compiled a record of 937 wins and 923 losses for a .504 winning percentage .[ 3] Two of his teams won Triple-A -level championships; the 1990 Rochester Red Wings of the International League and the 1996 Oklahoma City 89ers of the American Association .[ 5] [ 6]
Biagini spent three seasons (1992–1994) in the American League as the major league hitting coach for the Orioles during the managerial term of Johnny Oates .[citation needed ] Biagini was later with the Boston Red Sox organization, as a roving minor league batting instructor in 2000,[ 7] and as an advance scout in 2001.[ 8] In 2002, he helped run a youth baseball complex in Edmond, Oklahoma .[ 9]
Biagini died in 2003 at age 51 from kidney cancer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma .[ 10] [ 11] His son, Tanner, later played two seasons for the Tampa Bay Rays organization as a corner infielder .[ 12] [ 13]
References
^ "1973 Baseball Draft" . Baseball Almanac . Retrieved August 17, 2020 .
^ "Expos Sign Five" . St. Cloud Times . St. Cloud, Minnesota . UPI . June 14, 1973. p. 26. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
^ a b c d e f "Greg Biagini Minor & Mexican Leagues Statistics & History" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved August 17, 2020 .
^ Smyth, Jimmy (June 22, 1983). "Bluefield's Orioles looking for 8th title" . Johnson City Press . Johnson City, Tennessee . p. 15. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
^ "International League Governors' Cup Championship" . tripleabaseball.com . Retrieved August 17, 2020 .
^ "American Association Championships" . tripleabaseball.com . Retrieved August 17, 2020 .
^ Hersom, Bob (February 13, 2000). "RedHawks ready for spring drills" . The Daily Oklahoman . Oklahoma City . p. 27. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Transactions" . Brattleboro Reformer . Brattleboro, Vermont . July 13, 2001. p. 13. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
^ Colon, Bob (July 7, 2002). "Wanted: a few good umps" . The Daily Oklahoman . Oklahoma City . p. 12-C. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
^ Hersom, Bob (October 4, 2003). "Ex-manager dies of cancer" . The Daily Oklahoman . Oklahoma City . p. 26. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Ex-Wings manager dies" . Democrat and Chronicle . Rochester, New York . October 6, 2003. p. 24. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Letters: A message from Greg Biagini's son" . The Daily Oklahoman . Oklahoma City . June 14, 2005. p. 24. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Tanner Biagini Minor League Statistics & History" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved August 17, 2020 .
Further reading
External links