Toby Harrah
Toby Harrah | ||
---|---|---|
Runs batted in | 918 | |
Teams | ||
As player
As manager | ||
Career highlights and awards | ||
Colbert Dale "Toby" Harrah (born October 26, 1948) is an American former professional
Playing career
Harrah was scouted as a high school baseball player in his hometown of LaRue, Ohio, but was not signed at graduation as most scouts expected him to attend college on a baseball scholarship. Legendary scout Tony Lucadello later discovered that Harrah was not attending school, but was instead working in a factory in nearby Marion. Lucadello signed Harrah for the Philadelphia Phillies in December, 1966.
After one year in the Phillies organization, Harrah was drafted by the
In
In 1984, Harrah was traded to the New York Yankees, where he was a part-time player, then he was traded again to the Rangers, where he played regularly again for the 1985 and 1986 seasons, primarily at second base. With the retirement of Jeff Burroughs in 1985, Harrah became the last active major leaguer to have played for the Washington Senators. He was also the last player to see a pitch for the Senators in their final game on September 30, 1971, when Tommy McCraw was caught stealing during his plate appearance for the Senators' final out in the bottom of the eighth.
In a 13–11 Rangers win over the
Harrah was noted for his good eye at the plate, placing in the top ten in the league for
According to
In 2009, Harrah was named to the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.[8]
Coaching career
Following his playing career, Harrah moved on to coaching in professional baseball. From 1987 to 1988 he managed the
In 1995 Harrah managed the Triple A
In 2004, Harrah was named minor league hitting coordinator for the Tigers, where he worked with players at all levels as a roving instructor. He remained in that position until part way through the 2012 season.[10]
In June 2012, Harrah joined the Detroit Tigers major league coaching staff in an unofficial capacity.[11] Tigers manager Jim Leyland noted that with so many players struggling at once, hitting coach Lloyd McClendon had been stretched thin. The notion of two hitting coaches had been recommended to Leyland by friend and former colleague Tony La Russa.[12] LaRussa had been the first to adopt a two-coach system when he named an assistant hitting coach, (Mike Aldrete), with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2008.[13] In the month following Harrah's arrival, the Tigers offense increased their average runs per game from 4.3 to 5.6.[14]
Following the 2012 season, Harrah was officially named assistant hitting coach by the Tigers for the 2013 season.[15] Following the 2013 season and the retirement of Tigers manager Jim Leyland, Harrah was informed that his contract would not be renewed.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
References
- ^ "Harrah Sets Mark for Doing Nothing". The New York Times. 27 June 1976.
- ^ "Bump blasts two HRs". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. August 28, 1977. p. D1.
- ^ Boswell, Thomas. "Orioles, Rangers Set Record With 3 Grand Slams," The Washington Post, Thursday, August 7, 1986. Retrieved July 1, 2021
- ^ "Toby Harrah Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- ^ "1992 Hall of Fame Voting | Baseball-Reference.com". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- ^ "Baseball Evolution – Keith – Ballot Droppers". baseballevolution.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- ^ "Introducing... Toby Harrah | Hall of Fame Debate". hofdebate.wordpress.com. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- ^ "Harrah, Sierra in Rangers Hall of Fame | MLB.com". mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- ^ "Toby Harrah Statistics (1967–1986)". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
- ^ "Manager and Coaches | tigers.com: Team". Detroit.tigers.mlb.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
- ^ Michigan Set your local edition » (28 June 2012). "Hitting coordinator Toby Harrah to work with Detroit Tigers hitters alongside Lloyd McClendon". MLive.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
- ^ Moore, Jack. "Phillies hire Wally Joyner as assistant hitting coach, continuing league-wide trend". CBSSports. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
- ^ Michigan Set your local edition » (28 June 2012). "Detroit Tigers' Jim Leyland on adding hitting assistant: 'We've had so many guys struggle'". MLive.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
- ^ Michigan Set your local edition » (21 July 2012). "Detroit Tigers find offensive spark since arrival of hitting coordinator Toby Harrah". MLive.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
- ^ "Detroit Tigers' Toby Harrah to remain on staff as assistant hitting coach; all six coaches to return". MLive.com. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs