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Rich Dauer

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Rich Dauer
Dauer during his induction into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame, 2012
Second baseman / Third baseman
Born: (1952-07-27) July 27, 1952 (age 72)
San Bernardino, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 11, 1976, for the Baltimore Orioles
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1985, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
Batting average.257
Home runs43
Runs batted in372
Teams
As player

As coach

Career highlights and awards

Richard Fremont Dauer (born July 27, 1952) is an American former infielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent his entire 10-year MLB playing career with the Baltimore Orioles, winning the 1983 World Series. He was primarily a second baseman and also played third base. Following his career as a player, he spent 19 seasons as an MLB coach for numerous teams, winning the World Series in 2017 as the first base coach for the Houston Astros. He was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 2012.

Additionally, he acted in the 1988 motion picture, Stealing Home, which starred Mark Harmon and Jodie Foster. He portrayed the San Bernardino Spirit baseball coach.

Early years

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Born in San Bernardino, California, Dauer graduated from Colton High School in Colton, California, in 1970. He played college baseball for the Indians of San Bernardino Valley College and transferred to the University of Southern California (USC), where he was an All-American[1][2] at third base. He helped the USC Trojans win the College World Series in 1973 and 1974,[3] USC's fifth consecutive title and sixth in seven years.[4][5][6]

Pro playing career

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Selected in the first round of the 1974 MLB draft in early June, Dauer was the 24th overall pick and began his pro career in the Single-A South Atlantic League with the Asheville Tourists. He moved up to the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League (IL) late in the 1975 season. The following season with the Red Wings, he won the league batting title with a .336 average, was named Rookie of the Year and shared Most Valuable Player honors with Mickey Klutts and Joe Lis.[7] He was called up by the Orioles that year and struggled, getting only four hits in 39 at bats.[8]

Dauer's struggles continued at the start of 1977, as he had just one hit in his first 41 at bats. He began the year as the Orioles' starting second baseman but lost the role to Billy Smith.[9] He credited Brooks Robinson and Lee May with helping him out, saying, "You can't make it in the Majors by yourself."[8] By the end of the year, he had regained the second base job from Smith.[9] He batted .243 with 74 hits, 15 doubles, five home runs, and 25 RBIs in 96 games while compiling a .982 fielding percentage at second base.[10]

Dauer played in the 1979 postseason. The Orioles defeated the California Angels in four games in the best-of-five 1979 American League Championship Series to secure the pennant, Baltimore's first since 1971. In the World Series, the O's built a 3-1 lead, then lost the last three games to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also played in the World Series in 1983, referred to by some as "the I-95 Series," won by the Orioles over the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.

Dauer holds two American League single season fielding records for a second baseman, including 86 consecutive errorless games and 425 straight errorless chances, both set in 1978.[11]

Dauer is one of the few players to have won a College World Series (twice) and an MLB World Series.

In 2012, Dauer was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame, becoming the 12th member of the 1983 championship team to be inducted.[11]

Coaching career

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Dauer as first base coach for the Houston Astros in 2016

Dauer has worked as a minor league coach for five organizations, and managed the Seattle Mariners Class A San Bernardino Spirit affiliate in 1987.[12] At the major league level, he coached for the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies.[3][13]

On December 19, 2012, he was named Manager of the Padres' Class AA affiliate, the San Antonio Missions,[13] where he led the Missions to the 2013 Texas League Championship.

Former teammate Lenn Sakata credited Dauer with helping him at shortstop in 1981 and 1982. "While I was at short, Rich gave me all the help and encouragement I needed. He was one of the best."[14]

Dauer served as the first base coach for the Astros in 2017, where they won the World Series for the first time ever that year.[15]

At the World Series parade Dauer suffered a subdural hematoma as a result of a head injury which required emergency brain surgery.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Newnham, Blaine (May 14, 1974). "Duck-Trojan game set back a day". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1D.
  2. ^ "Hurricanes prepare for final game". Boca Taron News. Florida. UPI. June 16, 1974. p. 13A.
  3. ^ a b "Rich Dauer #25". colorado.rockies.mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  4. ^ "Dauer paces Trojans". Boca Raton News. Florida. UPI. June 4, 1974. p. 11A.
  5. ^ "Troy wins; Miami foe in finals". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. June 15, 1974. p. 12.
  6. ^ "USC dynasty stays intact". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. June 17, 1974. p. 14.
  7. ^ McGowen, Deane. "People in Sports," The New York Times, Wednesday, October 6, 1976. Retrieved November 23, 2020
  8. ^ a b Rosenfeld, p. 58
  9. ^ a b "Billy Smith 1977 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  10. ^ "Rich Dauer Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Encina, Eduardo A. (August 24, 2012). "Rich Dauer becomes 12th member of 1983 title team to become an Orioles Hall of Famer". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  12. ^ "1987 San Bernardino Spirit". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Simon, Andrew (December 19, 2012). "Dauer named manager of Padres' Double-A squad". MLB.com. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  14. ^ Rosenfeld, p. 70
  15. ^ McTaggart, Brian; Gurnick, Ken (November 1, 2017). "Houston Astros win 2017 World Series". MLB. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  16. ^ Busbee, Jay (December 27, 2017). "Miracle recovery: Astros coach nearly died at World Series parade". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved December 27, 2017.

Rosenfeld, Harvey (1995). Iron Man: The Cal Ripken, Jr., Story. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-13524-6.

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