Dana Alan LeVangie (born August 11, 1969) is 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 ...
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
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 ...
, who was the pitching coach for 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 eight ...
of
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), ...
(MLB) in and . Formerly a
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
minor league 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 ...
, as an active player he both batted and threw right-handed and was listed at and .
Early years
A native of
Whitman, Massachusetts
Whitman is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,121 at the 2020 census. It is notable as being the place where the chocolate chip cookie was invented.
History
Whitman wa ...
, LeVangie graduated from
Whitman-Hanson Regional High School
Whitman-Hanson Regional High School is a public high school located in Hanson, Massachusetts, United States. The school serves students in grades 9-12 from the towns of Whitman, Massachusetts and Hanson, Massachusetts. It is part of the Whitman-H ...
in 1987; he then attended
Cape Cod Community College in
West Barnstable, Massachusetts
West Barnstable is a seaside village in the northwest part of the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts. Once devoted to agricultural pursuits, West Barnstable now is largely residential and historic. Originally founded in 1639 as part of its neighbori ...
(1987–1989), and
American International College
American International College (AIC) is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts.
History
American International College was originally established on July 18, 1885, as the French Protestant College by Rev. Calvin E. Amaron, who soug ...
(AIC) in
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
(1989–1991).
He was a catcher on the
AIC Yellow Jackets baseball team for two seasons (1990–1991). As a senior, he
batted .473 with 13
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s and 87
RBIs, and was named 1991
Division II Northeast Player of the Year.
[ He was selected by the Red Sox in the 14th round of the 1991 MLB draft.
]
Playing career
LeVangie signed with the Red Sox in June 1991, and played in the Boston 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 ...
through 1996. He mostly played at 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 ...
and Double-A levels, along with eight games in Triple-A. He was a career .196 hitter with seven home runs and 78 RBIs in 351 games played. LeVangie participated in spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
replacement games in 1995, during the 1994–95 MLB strike.
Post-playing career
LeVangie became the bullpen catcher for the 1997 Red Sox, and served in that role for eight years, through the 2004 Red Sox championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
season. He then worked as a scout for the Red Sox for eight seasons,[ serving as a pro scout in 2005 and an advance scout from 2006 through 2012.][
In 2013, LeVangie was named to succeed ]Gary Tuck
Gary Robert Tuck (born September 6, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played one game in Minor League Baseball as a catcher in 1978. He has coached in the minor leagues and in Major League Basebal ...
as bullpen coach for the Red Sox. He held that role until mid-August 2015, when he became interim bench coach for the Red Sox, one of several coaching reassignments caused by 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 ...
John Farrell's medical leave of absence for the successful treatment of lymphoma
Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...
. LeVangie returned to his role as the Red Sox' bullpen coach for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
LeVangie replaced Carl Willis
Carl Blake Willis (born December 28, 1960) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current pitching coach for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was previously the pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox and ...
as Boston pitching coach on November 8, 2017, on the staff of new manager Alex Cora
Jose Alexander Cora (born October 18, 1975) is a Puerto Rican baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 14 seasons with the Red Sox, Los Angele ...
. The first non-pitcher to hold that role for the Red Sox since Mike Roarke in 1994,[ LeVangie received credit for his contributions to Boston's 108-win regular season, its ]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 ...
pennant, and World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
championship. The Red Sox finished third in their league in team earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(3.75), then won 11 of 14 post-season games to capture their ninth world title.
On October 8, 2019, the Red Sox announced that LeVangie would not return as the team's pitching coach for the 2020 season, but would stay with the team as a pro scout.
Personal life
LeVangie was inducted to the AIC Yellow Jackets Hall of Fame in 2006. As of November 2017, LeVangie lives in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
East Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,440 at the 2020 census. It is also a part of Massachusetts' 8th congressional district, of which it is represented by Stephen Lynch.
History
The ...
, with his wife and two children.
Notes
References
Further reading
*
External links
* Coaching information fro
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levangie, Dana
1969 births
Living people
American International College alumni
Baseball coaches from Massachusetts
Baseball players from Massachusetts
Boston Red Sox coaches
Boston Red Sox scouts
Elmira Pioneers players
Fort Lauderdale Red Sox players
Lynchburg Red Sox players
Major League Baseball bullpen catchers
Major League Baseball bullpen coaches
Major League Baseball pitching coaches
New Britain Red Sox players
Pawtucket Red Sox players
People from Whitman, Massachusetts
Sportspeople from Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Trenton Thunder players
Whitman-Hanson Regional High School alumni
Winter Haven Red Sox players