Bradley James Fischer (born June 28, 1956, in

Blissfield, Michigan Blissfield is a village in Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,340 at the 2010 census. The village is mostly located within Blissfield Township with only very small portions extending west into Palmyra Township an ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and former player development executive,

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 ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

and

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 ...

. He is a former coach for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

(1995–2007 and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

(2009–2010). In he coached in the Major Leagues on the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

' staff, working under skipper

Clint Hurdle Clinton Merrick Hurdle (born July 30, 1957) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and manager. Hurdle played for the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals, and managed the Colorado Rock ...

. At the end of the 2016 season, Fischer was bumped off the coaching staff and offered a job on the Pirates' player development staff, and as of October 29, 2016 had not accepted that position. Fischer lives in

McFarland, Wisconsin The Village of McFarland is located on Lake Waubesa adjacent to the southeast side of the City of Madison in Dane County. The population was 8,991 at the 2020 United States Census. McFarland has approximately 43.50 road miles, is slightly le ...

Playing career

He has spent most of his career in the Oakland organization. Fischer was not drafted, but signed with the Athletics as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

out of

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

in 1978. A

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

, he played just one season in the minors, hitting .267 in 160

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

for the A's Bend Timber Hawks

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

affiliate. He threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed .

Managing/coaching career

After spending 1979 out of baseball, the 23-year-old Fischer was hired to manage the A's Short Season-A team in

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the Me ...

in 1980. In 1981, he piloted Medford to a

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

championship and earned Manager of the Year honors. After the season, he ran into

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

at the Phoenix airport. Fischer recalls the encounter with the A's manager, who also served as the team's

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 ...

at the time: "Billy saw me and said, 'Great year, kid. Where do you want to manage next year?' I said I had heard of an opening in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. He said, 'The job's yours.' ... I was just glad he remembered it the next day." Fischer took the Madison club to a league championship as well, and in 1984, added another playoff appearance. From 1985 to 1987, Fischer managed the Double-A

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

to three playoff appearances and a Southern League championship, with the likes of

José Canseco José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964), nicknamed Parkway Jose, Mr. 40-40 and El Cañonero Cubano (The Cuban Cannon), is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and designated hitter. During his time with the Oaklan ...

and

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardi ...

on his roster (albeit briefly). He was promoted to the Triple-A Tacoma Tigers in 1988, where he managed for three seasons. In his final season, 1990, he took the Tigers to the postseason. From 1991-93, Fischer worked as an instructor in the A's minor-league system, after which he spent two years as assistant director of player development, working alongside Keith Lieppman (who is still working in the same capacity today). He joined the A's Major League coaching staff in 1995 as the bullpen coach, then moved to first-base coach in 1997, shifted back to the bullpen in 1998, shifted back to first base in 2003 and finally back to the bullpen in 2006. At the conclusion of the 2007 season, the A's announced that he would not return, thus ending a 29-year relationship In 2008, he managed the

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The ...

, a Class A club affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fischer's final managerial record: 761-726, seven total postseason appearances. On November 4, 2008, Fischer was named the new third base coach for the

. Released after the season, he was named field coordinator in the Pirates' player development department on December 22, 2010, until his promotion to Hurdle's 2015 staff.

References

External links

*''2006 Oakland Athletics Media Guide''. Pg. 22. Produced by the Oakland Athletics Public Relations Department.
SFGate.com: Fischer A Lone Constant With A's - John SheaOaklandAthletics.com: A's Announce Coaching Staff Changes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Brad 1956 births Living people Bend Timber Hawks players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Minor league baseball managers Oakland Athletics coaches People from Blissfield, Michigan Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches People from McFarland, Wisconsin Madison Muskies players Baseball players from Michigan