Harold Delano "Butch" Wynegar Jr. (born March 14, 1956) 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 ...
former professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
player and the current
hitting 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 ...
for the
Bradenton Marauders
The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...
Class A-Advanced
High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...
affiliate of the
Pittsburgh Pirates. He played in
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), ...
as a
catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...
for the
Minnesota Twins,
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
and
California Angels, and was a two-time All Star.
Playing career
Minor leagues
Wynegar was drafted by the
Minnesota Twins in the second round of the
1974 Major League Baseball Draft. In his first season in
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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
, he batted a league-leading .346 batting average and .464 on base percentage with a .524 slugging percentage and eight
home runs and 51 RBIs (5th in the league) for the Rookie League
Elizabethton Twins, and was named an
Appalachian League All Star.
In 1975, Wynegar played for the unaffiliated
Reno Silver Sox
The Reno Silver Sox were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1947 to 1992. The team name is derived from the nickname of Nevada, the "Silver State". There was another baseball team known as the Reno Silver Sox who played i ...
of the
California League, and batted .314 (4th in the league)/.473 (2nd in the league/.500 (4th in the league). He led the league with 142 walks and 112 RBIs, and was 2nd in the league with 106 runs and 19 home runs. (Reno was officially unaffiliated, but had agreements with the Twins and the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
to take players on optional assignment from those teams.)
Minnesota Twins
The Twins invited him to their
spring training camp in 1976, where he successfully made the team, never having played Double or
Triple-A baseball.
To date, Wynegar is the only catcher to have ever jumped directly from A-ball to the majors.
Wynegar proved to be adept both behind the plate and batting. In 1976 he was the fourth-youngest baseball player in the AL.
[Butch Wynegar Stats , Baseball-Reference.com]
/ref> His first major league home run was a game-winner off Catfish Hunter
James Augustus Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999), nicknamed "Catfish", was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). From to , he was a pitcher for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Hunter wa ...
on April 18, 1976. Wynegar was 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 ...
.294 with six home runs and 37 runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...
at the 1976 All-Star break and was named to the American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
All-Star team his rookie season. He drew a walk in his only at-bat, and became the youngest player at the time to appear in an All-Star Game (20 years, 212 days). For the season, Wynegar had 650 putouts, second in the league behind Jim Sundberg
James Howard Sundberg (born May 18, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, television sports analyst and executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1974 to 1989. A three-time All-Star player, Sundberg esta ...
, and batted .260 with ten home runs and 69 RBIs and was 9th in the league in walks, with 79. He finished second in the 1976 American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
Rookie of the Year balloting to Mark Fidrych
Mark Steven Fidrych ( ; August 14, 1954 – April 13, 2009), nicknamed "The Bird", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers (1976–1980).
Known for his quirky antics ...
, and was named ''The Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year.
Wynegar had six home runs and 47 RBIs at the midpoint of the 1977 season to make his second consecutive All-Star team. He drove in a career high 79 runs for the season, and had established himself as one of the better fielding catchers by leading the American League in baserunners caught stealing with 60, and logging a .993 fielding percentage along with 84 assists, second only to Sundberg.
He led the league again in 1979, throwing out 64 baserunners, led the league in caught-stealing percentage at 52.9%, and once again finished second to Sundberg in fielding percentage with a .992 average. In 1980, he led all AL catchers in double plays, with 13.
Wynegar signed a $2 million, five-year contract with the Twins in 1981. He was traded along with Roger Erickson from the Twins
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
to the Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
for Larry Milbourne
Lawrence William Milbourne (born February 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball utility infielder whose career spanned 15 seasons, 11 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros (1974–76), Seattl ...
, John Pacella
John Lewis Pacella (born September 15, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He became known for his unusual delivery that sometimes caused him to lose his cap after a pitch.
Background
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Pacella mov ...
and Pete Filson
William Peter Filson (born September 28, 1958) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played during seven seasons at the major league level for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, and Kansas City Royals.
Playing car ...
on May 12, 1982. Wynegar claimed that Twins owner Calvin Griffith wanted to get rid of high-priced players however, Griffith responded that Wynegar was being traded because his batting average was only .209.
New York Yankees
Wynegar hit well with the Yankees in 1982, producing a .293 average in 63 games. He had more walks than strikeouts, leading to a .413 on base percentage.
He platooned with Rick Cerone
Richard Aldo Cerone (born May 19, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player, television sports color commentator and minor league baseball team owner. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to with the Cleveland Ind ...
behind the plate in 1983, batting .296./.399/.429 in 94 games. He was the Yankees catcher on July 4, 1983, when Dave Righetti
David Allan Righetti (born November 28, 1958), nicknamed "Rags", is an American professional baseball coach and former player. A left-handed pitcher, Righetti played in Major League Baseball from 1979 through 1995 for the New York Yankees, San F ...
pitched a no hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
in Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...
against the Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
.
Wynegar became the Yankees starting catcher in 1984, playing in 129 games. His average dipped to .267 in 1984, and fell further to .223 in 1985, in part due to an injury that occurred when he was hit in the head by a foul ball while standing in the on deck circle. In 1985, Wynegar caught both Phil Niekro
Philip Henry Niekro ( ; April 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020), nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, 20 of them with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 318 career victor ...
's 3000th strike out and his 300th win.
After three and a half seasons with New York, Wynegar became 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 ...
and re-signed with the Yankees for the 1986 season. However, the stress of playing for a high-profile team in New York City led by owner George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...
, manager 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 ...
, and then manager Lou Piniella
Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and ...
began to wear on him and led to him suffering from a deep depression.[Big Apple Turned Sour for Wynegar: Angels' New Catcher Had to Get Out of New York Before He Lost His Mind - latimes]
/ref> A contract dispute in 1985, the firing of Yankee manager Yogi Berra
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but ...
, and a personality conflict with new Yankee manager Billy Martin took their toll on Wynegar's morale. In July 1986, Wynegar informed the Yankees that he had lost his enthusiasm for the game and did not want to play in New York anymore. He called Clyde King
Clyde Edward King (May 23, 1924 – November 2, 2010) was an American pitcher, coach, manager, general manager and front office executive in Major League Baseball.
King's career in baseball spanned 67 years, including 35 full years with the New ...
, the general manager, and asked him for permission for some time off, explaining that he could no longer cope. After talking to owner Steinbrenner, King told Wynegar he could have one day off. But the game was no longer fun for Wynegar and he told King "this was no one-day thing," departed for home, and did not play for the rest of the season. He left the team forfeiting $1.4 million ($ in current dollar terms) still owed on his contract.[Sports , Butch Wynegar Hasn't Forgotten , ''Seattle Times'']
/ref>
Months later, Wynegar requested to be traded. The Yankees traded Wynegar to the California Angels on December 19, 1986, for pitcher Ron Romanick
Ronald James Romanick (born November 6, 1960) is an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach. He is the minor league pitching coordinator for the New York Mets organization. Romanick played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the C ...
and player to be named later relief pitcher Alan Mills.
California Angels
With the Angels, Wynegar became a back-up for the first time in his career, working behind Bob Boone
Robert Raymond Boone (born November 19, 1947) is an American former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who was a four-time All-Star.
Born in San Diego, California, he is the son of MLB player Ray Boone, and he is the father o ...
during the 1987 season. In May 1987 the Angels' team physician removed bone spur
An exostosis, also known as bone spur, is the formation of new bone on the surface of a bone. Exostoses can cause chronic pain ranging from mild to debilitatingly severe, depending on the shape, size, and location of the lesion. It is most common ...
s from his arthritic
Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In s ...
right big toe, and operated again after the season removing calcium
Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar t ...
deposits from Wynegar's foot.
He retired as a player early in the 1988 season at the age of 32, as he was batting .255/.338/.418, due to his arthritic big toe.
Managing and coaching career
In 1991 and 1992, Wynegar coached at Rollins College. In 1994, he became the 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 ...
of the 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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
' South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...
affiliate, the Albany Polecats. A year later, in 1995, Wynegar was named manager of the Charlotte Rangers
The Charlotte Rangers, based in Port Charlotte, Florida, were an American minor league baseball team that existed from 1987 through 2002. The team played at Charlotte County Stadium as a Class A Florida State League affiliate of the Texas Rang ...
of the Florida State League, where he remained through the 1997 season. He spent the next five seasons, through 2002, as the Texas Rangers' roving hitting instructor, and part of 1999 as the Rangers major league bullpen coach.
From 2003 to 2006 Wynegar was the hitting coach for the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2007, he went back in the New York Yankees' organization, serving as hitting coach through 2014 for the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...
.
In 2015, Wynegar, moved to the Pirates organization as AAA Indianapolis Indians hitting coach. In 2018, he was made hitting coach of the Pirates' Class A-Advanced Bradenton Marauders.
Career statistics
In a 13-year major league career, Wynegar played in 1,301 games, accumulating 1,102 hits in 4,330 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 a .255 career batting average along with 65 home runs and 506 runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...
. He ended his career with a .989 fielding percentage. Wynegar logged 10,521 innings behind the plate in his career.
Personal life
Wynegar grew up in York, Pennsylvania
York (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populatio ...
, the son of Harold D. Wynegar Sr. and Dorrea L. "Dee" (Storm) Wynegar.Dorrea L. “Dee” Storm Wynegar (1935-2005) - Find A Grave Memorial
/ref> He attended Red Lion High School. Wynegar is married to his wife, Deborah, and they have a son, Mark.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wynegar, Butch
Major League Baseball catchers
Minnesota Twins players
New York Yankees players
California Angels players
American League All-Stars
Milwaukee Brewers coaches
Major League Baseball hitting coaches
Elizabethton Twins players
Reno Silver Sox players
Minor league baseball managers
Minor league baseball coaches
Baseball players from Pennsylvania
Sportspeople from York, Pennsylvania
1956 births
Living people