Chuck Tanner
Chuck Tanner | |
---|---|
Outfielder / Manager | |
Born: New Castle, Pennsylvania, U.S. | July 4, 1928|
Died: February 11, 2011 New Castle, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 82)|
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
MLB debut | |
April 12, 1955, for the Milwaukee Braves | |
Last MLB appearance | |
May 8, 1962, for the Los Angeles Angels | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .261 |
Home runs | 21 |
Runs batted in | 105 |
Managerial record | 1,352–1,381 |
Teams | |
As player
As manager
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Charles William Tanner (July 4, 1928 – February 11, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A left fielder and pinch hitter who appeared in 396 games in Major League Baseball between 1955 and 1962, he was known for his unwavering confidence and infectious optimism.[1][2] As a manager for all or parts of 19 seasons, he led the Pittsburgh Pirates to a World Series championship in 1979. In his last baseball job, he served as a senior advisor to Pirates general manager Neal Huntington.
Playing career
A left-handed batter and thrower, Tanner signed his first
Managerial career
Tanner is best known as a manager, having managed four teams from 1970 to 1988. His overall managerial record was 1,352–1,381 in 17 full seasons and parts of two others.[4]
Minor leagues
Tanner spent his entire Minor League managing career in the
Chicago White Sox
Both Tanner and Roland Hemond joined the Chicago White Sox from the Angels on September 4, 1970 when general manager Stu Holcomb hired them as manager and director of player personnel respectively. Tanner, who signed a two-year contract, replaced Don Gutteridge who had been dismissed two days prior. Due to the Islanders qualifying for the PCL championship series,[5] he was unable to make his White Sox managerial debut until September 15, requiring Bill Adair to serve in the interim.[6] Tanner did not retain Adair for his staff after the season, but he named Al Monchak and Joe Lonnett as his first- and third-base coaches respectively on October 2, 1970.[7] All three went on to serve in similar capacities together with the White Sox (1971–75), Oakland Athletics (1976) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1977–84), with Monchak continuing as Tanner's first-base coach with the Atlanta Braves from 1986 to 1988.[8]
With the White Sox, Tanner managed such star players as
John said that "Chuck Tanner once told me he never forgot the fact that he was a player. When he became a manager, he remembered how he wanted his manager to treat him."[11]
Oakland Athletics
One day later on
A's owner Charlie Finley had hoped to secure a manager at a cut rate for at least three years, but ended up in a dispute with Veeck and the American League (AL) over how much each team owed Tanner. AL president Lee MacPhail ruled that the White Sox had to pay most of the $60,000 owed to Tanner for the 1976 season but was released from any contractual obligation for 1977 and 1978.[12]
Pittsburgh Pirates
Tanner returned to his
He reached the pinnacle of his managerial career in 1979 as the skipper of the Pirates' 1979 World Series champion team. The team included future Hall of Famers, first baseman Willie Stargell and pitcher Bert Blyleven, along with curmudgeonly stars like third baseman Bill Madlock and outfielder Dave Parker. Tanner guided the team together, and the players selected the Sister Sledge hit "We Are Family" as their theme song. The Pirates were able to win the World Series after falling behind three games to one to the Baltimore Orioles. Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson wrote of the Pirates, "They do everything with abandon, because that's the way Chuck Tanner wants it. He's an aggressive manager, a manager who doesn’t go by the book. That's why Pittsburgh is such an exciting team."[2] 1979 was Tanner's only divisional winner as a manager.
Tanner's next few seasons could not match his 1979 World Series winner as the 1985 Pittsburgh Drug Trials showed that serious drug problems beset the team—arguably the worst of any major league team. The most famous Pirate affected by his usage was Parker, whose cocaine habit punched a hole in his offensive production in the middle of his career—possibly costing him a chance at Cooperstown. Reliever Rod Scurry had it much worse; his cocaine habit ultimately forced him out of baseball in 1988 and cost him his life in 1992. Following five years of mediocre seasons in which the Pirates neither lost nor won no more than 84 games, but only finished as high as second place in the division once, Tanner was fired following a 104-loss season in 1985.[4] He finished his Pirates career with a record of 711 wins and 685 losses.[4]
Atlanta Braves
Tanner was hired by the Atlanta Braves prior to the 1986 season, but his teams continued to muddle along near the bottom of their division—finishing last and second to last in the NL West in his two full seasons. Following a 12–27 start to the 1988 season, Tanner was fired by the Braves and replaced by Russ Nixon. He finished his Braves career with a record of 153 wins and 208 losses.[4]
Managerial record
Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
CWS | 1970 | 16 | 3 | 13 | .188 | 6th in AL West | – | – | – | – |
CWS | 1971 | 162 | 79 | 83 | .488 | 3rd in AL West | – | – | – | – |
CWS | 1972 | 154 | 87 | 67 | .565 | 2nd in AL West | – | – | – | – |
CWS | 1973 | 162 | 77 | 85 | .475 | 5th in AL West | – | – | – | – |
CWS | 1974 | 160 | 80 | 80 | .500 | 4th in AL West | – | – | – | – |
CWS | 1975 | 161 | 75 | 86 | .466 | 5th in AL West | – | – | – | – |
CWS total | 815 | 401 | 414 | .492 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
OAK | 1976 | 161 | 87 | 74 | .540 | 2nd in AL West | – | – | – | – |
OAK total | 161 | 87 | 74 | .540 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
PIT | 1977 | 162 | 96 | 66 | .593 | 2nd in NL East | – | – | – | – |
PIT | 1978 | 161 | 88 | 73 | .547 | 2nd in NL East | – | – | – | – |
PIT | 1979 | 162 | 98 | 64 | .605 | 1st in NL East | 7 | 3 | .700 | Won World Series (BAL) |
PIT | 1980 | 162 | 83 | 79 | .512 | 3rd in NL East | – | – | – | – |
PIT | 1981 | 48 | 25 | 23 | .521 | 4th in NL East | – | – | – | – |
54 | 21 | 33 | .389 | 6th in NL East | ||||||
PIT | 1982 | 162 | 84 | 78 | .519 | 4th in NL East | – | – | – | – |
PIT | 1983 | 162 | 84 | 78 | .519 | 2nd in NL East | – | – | – | – |
PIT | 1984 | 162 | 75 | 87 | .463 | 6th in NL East | – | – | – | – |
PIT | 1985 | 161 | 57 | 104 | .354 | 6th in NL East | – | – | – | – |
PIT total | 1396 | 711 | 685 | .509 | 7 | 3 | .700 | |||
ATL | 1986 | 161 | 72 | 89 | .447 | 6th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
ATL | 1987 | 161 | 69 | 92 | .429 | 5th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
ATL | 1988 | 39 | 12 | 27 | .308 | 6th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
ATL total | 361 | 153 | 208 | .424 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
Total[4] | 2733 | 1352 | 1381 | .495 | 7 | 3 | .700 |
Front office career
After spending five seasons as a special assistant to the
Other honors
In 2006, he was invited to be a coach in the 2006 All Star game by NL manager Phil Garner, who had played for both the A's and the Pirates during Tanner's tenure as manager. Prior to the start of the game, Tanner threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
In 2007, the Rotary Club of Pittsburgh began the Chuck Tanner Baseball Manager of the Year Award. For the first three years, the award was given to a manager in Major League Baseball. In 2010, a second award was presented to the "Chuck Tanner Collegiate Baseball Manager of the Year"; the original award was renamed the "Chuck Tanner Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award".
Personal life
He was the father of former major league player and coach Bruce Tanner. Tanner later opened a restaurant in his hometown of New Castle, Pennsylvania, which has since been sold but remains under the name, "Chuck Tanner's Restaurant".[1] Tanner died at age 82 on February 11, 2011, in New Castle after a long illness.[13]
See also
- Home run in first Major League at-bat
- List of Major League Baseball managers by wins
References
- ^ a b c Cook, Ron (May 28, 2011). "Tanner has a lot of life left". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ a b c d e Weber, Bruce (February 12, 2011). "Chuck Tanner, Who Managed Pirates to '79 Title, Dies". The New York Times. p. D8.
- ^ "Cincinnati Redlegs at Milwaukee Braves Box Score, April 12, 1955". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Chuck Tanner". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ "Tanner Is Appointed White Sox Manager," The Associated Press (AP), Friday, September 4, 1970. Retrieved December 10, 2021
- ^ "White Sox Rally Beats Twins, 8–7," The Associated Press (AP), Sunday, September 13, 1970. Retrieved December 10, 2021
- ^ "White Sox Name 2 Coaches," The Associated Press (AP), Friday, October 2, 1970. Retrieved December 10, 2021
- ^ "Atlanta Braves hire new coaches," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, October 15, 1985. Retrieved December 10, 2021
- ^ John and Valenti, p. 119
- ^ a b "Tanner selected Oakland skipper". Spartanburg Herald. Associated Press. 19 December 1975. p. C2. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ John and Valenti, p. 10
- ^ a b Brown, Craig. "Retracing Chuck Tanner's path to Pirates," ESPN.com, Sunday, February 13, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2018
- ^ "Chuck Tanner dies at 82". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 11, 2011.
- John, Tommy; Valenti, Dan (1991). TJ: My Twenty-Six Years in Baseball. New York: Bantam. ISBN 0-553-07184-X.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Chuck Tanner managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com