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Rene Lachemann

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Rene Lachemann
Lachemann as a first base coach for the Colorado Rockies in 2013
Catcher / Manager
Born: (1945-05-04) May 4, 1945 (age 79)
Los Angeles, California, US
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 4, 1965, for the Kansas City Athletics
Last MLB appearance
June 8, 1968, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.210
Home runs9
Runs batted in33
Managerial record428–560
Winning %.433
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Managerial record at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
As player

As manager

Career highlights and awards

Rene George Lachemann (born May 4, 1945) is an American former professional baseball coach, catcher and manager. He spent 53 years in Major League Baseball, including service as the manager of the Seattle Mariners (1981–83), Milwaukee Brewers (1984), and expansion Florida Marlins (1993–96).

Early connections with LaRussa, Duncan

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Born in Los Angeles and the son of a hotel chef, Lachemann is the youngest of three brothers to enjoy long careers in professional baseball: Marcel Lachemann is a member of the Los Angeles Angels' front office and a former pitcher, coach and manager in the Major Leagues, and Bill is a longtime manager and instructor in the Angels' farm system. Rene served as a batboy for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1959 to 1962, graduated from Dorsey High School, and attended the University of Southern California.[1] He signed a bonus contract with the Kansas City Athletics in 1964, where he joined other young players such as Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan, with whom he would have a lasting professional association.

Lachemann, a 6-foot (1.83 m), 198 lb (90 kg) right-handed hitter, played only one full season in the major leagues, batting .227 in 1965 with nine home runs and 29 runs batted in and appearing in 92 games.[2] He played briefly—in 26 total games—for the A's in 1966 and 1968, but spent the rest of his playing career in minor league baseball. His major league batting average was .210 in 281 at bats.[2]

Manager in Seattle and Milwaukee

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Lachemann began managing in the Oakland Athletics' farm system in 1973, and switched to the Seattle organization five years later. On May 6, 1981, Lachemann was promoted from Triple-A Spokane to succeed Maury Wills as the M's manager.[3] But during the equivalent of almost two full seasons, Seattle was 140–180 (.438) and in the midst of an eight-game losing streak when Lachemann was fired on June 25, 1983, and replaced by Del Crandall.[4][5] He returned the following year as manager of the contending Milwaukee Brewers,[6] but the club collapsed to 67–94 (.416), last in the American League East, and he was fired with three games remaining to be played, though he was allowed to complete the season with the Brewers.[7]

Lachemann was a major league coach for the next eight seasons, under John McNamara with the Boston Red Sox (1985–86) and La Russa with the Oakland Athletics (1987–92). He was the third-base coach with Boston's 1986 American League champions and the Athletics during their three consecutive (1988–90) American League pennants, and their 1989 World Series championship.

First Marlins' manager

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Due to his success with the Athletics, on October 23, 1992, he became the expansion Marlins’ first manager when they entered the National League at the outset of the 1993 season.[8][9] He was chosen over candidates such as former major league managers Bill Virdon and Jimy Williams, and also was a finalist for the managerial job with the Texas Rangers, who hired Kevin Kennedy.[9]

The Marlins were 64–98 (.395) in their inaugural season, good for sixth place in the NL East while being five games better than the New York Mets. In the strike-shortened season of 1994, they went 51–64 (.443) for a fifth-place finish. Florida improved to 67–76 (.469) and a fourth-place ranking the following year. For 1996, the team was playing slightly below average, being 39–47 (.453) by the time of the All-Star break. On July 7, Lachemann and hitting coach Jose Morales were fired.[10] Lachemann was replaced by John Boles, a front-office executive for the Marlins at the time (Cookie Rojas was the interim manager for one game). General manager Dave Dombrowski described the move as an "extremely difficult decision to make at this time," citing the team's play as the reason for the change. Lachemann described his biggest regret that he would not be around to see the team win.[11] As the Marlins' manager, Lachemann compiled a 221–285 (.437) record.[12] The next year, the Marlins won the World Series.[13]

Later coaching career

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He returned to the coaching ranks the following season, on La Russa's staff with the St. Louis Cardinals,[14] then coached for the Chicago Cubs and the Mariners, before returning to Oakland in 2005 for three years as bench coach and third base coach.[15] His contract was not renewed after 2007 and he joined the Colorado Rockies' organization in 2008. Lachemann served through 2012 as hitting coach for their Triple-A affiliate Colorado Springs, then was added to the Rockies' MLB staff in 2013 by manager Walt Weiss, a former Oakland shortstop.[16] He worked under Weiss for four seasons, until the Rockies changed managers at the close of 2016.[17]

Including a one-game stint as interim manager of the 2002 Cubs, Lachemann's major league managing record was 428–560 (.433).[12]

Managerial record

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Team From To Regular season record Post–season record
W L Win % W L Win %
Seattle Mariners 1981 1983 140 180 .438 —
Milwaukee Brewers 1984 1984 67 94 .416
Florida Marlins 1993 1996 221 285 .437
Chicago Cubs 2002 2002 0 1 .000
Total 428 560 .433 0 0 –
Reference:[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Seattle Mariners 1982 Organization Book, Boston: Howe News Bureau, 1982.
  2. ^ a b "Rene Lachemann Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  3. ^ Blanchette, John (May 7, 1981). "Wills fired; M's turn to 'Lach'". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 25 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ^ "A shake-up in Seattle". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. June 26, 1983. p. D1 – via Google News Archive.
  5. ^ "Seattle fires Lachemann, drops Perry and Cruz". The Register-Guard. Oregon. June 26, 1983. p. 7C – via Google News Archive.
  6. ^ Kaplan, Jim (April 16, 1984). "Not a happy homecoming". Sports Illustrated. p. 56.
  7. ^ "Milwaukee Brewers fire Lachemann". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. September 27, 1984. p. 29 – via Google News Archive.
  8. ^ "Marlins name Lachemann manager". Star-News. North Carolina. October 24, 1992. p. 4C – via Google News Archive.
  9. ^ a b Figueroa, Pedro R. (October 23, 2013). "Marlins History: Marlins hire Rene Lachemann". Fish Stripes. SB Nation.
  10. ^ "Slumping Marlins fire Lachemann". Star-News. North Carolina. Associated Press. July 8, 1996. p. 5B – via Google News Archive.
  11. ^ "Marlins fire manager Rene Lachemann - UPI Archives". United Press International. July 7, 1996.
  12. ^ a b c "Rene Lachemann". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  13. ^ Chass, Murray (October 27, 1997). "'97 WORLD SERIES; Marlins Win World Series". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  14. ^ "EX-MARLINS MANAGER ADDED TO CARDS' STAFF". Orlando Sentinel. February 2, 1997. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  15. ^ "Phillies to meet with Leyland". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. October 27, 2004. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  16. ^ Saunders, Patrick (November 15, 2012). "Rockies, Weiss fill out coaching staff; Jim Wright takes over pitching". The Denver Post.
  17. ^ Ringolsby, Tracy (February 11, 2017). "Lachemann prepares for first spring home in 53 years". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Spokane Indians manager
1979–1981 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Seattle Mariners manager
1981–1983 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Milwaukee Brewers manager
1984 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Boston Red Sox third base coach
1985–1986 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Oakland Athletics first base coach
1987–1988 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Oakland Athletics third base coach
1989–1992 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Franchise established
 Florida Marlins manager
1993–1996 		Succeeded by
Preceded by St. Louis Cardinals third base coach
1997–1999 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chicago Cubs bench coach
2000–2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chicago Cubs manager
2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Seattle Mariners bench coach
2003–2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Oakland Athletics bench coach
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Oakland Athletics first base coach
2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Oakland Athletics third base coach
2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Colorado Rockies first base coach
2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Colorado Rockies catching coach
2014–2016 		Succeeded by
None
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