Mike Roarke
| Mike Roarke | ||
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Runs batted in | 44 | |
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Michael Thomas Roarke (November 8, 1930 – July 27, 2019) was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball. During his playing days he threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg).
Roarke was born in West Warwick, Rhode Island, where he graduated from West Warwick High School in 1948. He earned a B.Sc. degree in history at Boston College, and served as captain of the Eagles' football and baseball teams. He won the Scanlan Award in 1951 for outstanding ability in scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability.
Minor-league apprenticeship
Like his college teammate, future MLB
Known as a good handler of pitchers and an excellent defensive catcher, Roarke struggled as a hitter, eclipsing a .250
Tigers' second-string catcher
After the
Bullpen and pitching coach
He retired as an active player on October 9, 1964, to become a
Then, after a seven-year stint (1971–77) as a minor league manager and roving minor league pitching instructor, Roarke served as a pitching coach for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals (where he worked on two NL pennant winners—1985 and 1987—under Whitey Herzog), San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox, retiring after the strike-shortened 1994 season. He also spent three seasons in his native Rhode Island as pitching coach of the 1981–83 Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League, working with his old college classmate, Morgan, during his first two years with Pawtucket.
He died on July 27, 2019, in West Warwick.[1]
See also
References
- ^ McNamara, Kevin. "West Warwick native Mike Roarke, former MLB player and coach, dies at 88". providencejournal.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- Howe News Bureau, 1982 Boston Red Sox Organization Book
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Mike Roarke at SABR (Baseball BioProject)