Bernard Joseph "Barney" Lutz (August 20, 1915 – July 11, 1966) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

and instructor. Primarily an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

in his playing days, he batted left-handed, threw right-handed, and was listed at and .

Career

Lutz'

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

playing career extended from 1936 through 1954, with two seasons (1944 and 1945) missed because of World War II military service; he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from April 1944 until January 1946. He briefly reached the Triple-A level twice, but spent most of his playing days in the middle rungs of the minor leagues. He became a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

in the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

in 1949. During his tenure with the Phillies, he had his best statistical season as the player-manager of the 1950 Bradford Phillies of the Class D Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League),

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.389 with 179

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. In 1953, he switched to the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

' organization and remained in it when the Browns became the modern

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

in 1954. Defensively, he played over 900 games in the outfield; he also played some games at second base and third base, and pitched one inning. Lutz focused on managing in the Baltimore system during 1955–1960, then became an Orioles

and coordinator of instruction in 1961. He was considered one of the important behind-the-scenes figures of the Baltimore dynasty of the 1960s and 1970s. Said former MLB

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Lou Gorman James Gerald "Lou" Gorman (February 18, 1929 – April 1, 2011) was an American baseball executive, and the former general manager of the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. He spent more than three decades in baseball op ...

, "Lutz was a throw-back to the old-time scouting breed: tough, hardworking and loyal ... He was one of a kind." Born in 1915 in Lucinda, Pennsylvania, Lutz died at age 50 in

Geneva, New York Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...

, from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

while scouting a

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

game, his death occurring during the Orioles' 1966 World Championship season. The Orioles created the Barney Lutz Memorial Award in his memory, given to an Orioles minor league player for excellence. The award's inaugural winner in 1968, then-minor league outfielder and future minor league manager Bill Scripture, later said, "Barney Lutz, before he died of a heart attack, was one of the most competitive men ever to have worn a uniform. I was glad someone recognized me and compared me to Lutz."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lutz, Barney 1915 births 1966 deaths Aberdeen Pheasants players Anniston Rams players Baltimore Orioles scouts Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania Baseball players from Clarion County, Pennsylvania Bradford Phillies players Carbondale Pioneers players Clinton Owls players Dayton Wings players Elmira Pioneers players Fayetteville Angels players Fort Lauderdale Braves players Greenwood Dodgers players Key West Conchs players Minor league baseball managers Nashville Vols players People from Clarion County, Pennsylvania Pine Bluff Judges players Sportspeople from Elmira, New York Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players United States Navy personnel of World War II Wichita Falls Spudders players Williamsport Grays players Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940–1952) players Lima Phillies players