David Joppie (born December 11, 1965) 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 ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

. Joppie is a former Lakewood High School graduate,

Aquinas College :''See also List of institutions named after Thomas Aquinas'' Aquinas College may refer to any one of several educational institutions: In Australia *Aquinas College, Perth, Roman Catholic boys' R–12 school *Aquinas College, Adelaide, residenti ...

baseball player and men's college basketball official. He worked games in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference for almost 20 years, deciding to retire from officiating after the 2009–2010 basketball season to concentrate exclusively on baseball. In 1995 Joppie joined 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 ...

organization as the

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

of the Double-A Huntsville Stars for two seasons. He went on to coach Class A+

Modesto A's Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

(1997), then returned with Huntsville (1998) before joining Class A+

Visalia Oaks Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

(1999). In 2000, he was promoted to

manage 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 ...

Single-A Vancouver Canadians. He led his team to a record of 39-37 (.513), good for a fourth place in the Northwest League. He returned to coaching with Double-A Midland RockHounds from 2001 to 2003 and later managed Class-A

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their ho ...

in 2004 and 2005. In his first season with the Cougars, Joppie guided them to a first-place finish in the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

West Division with a record of 83-56 (.597), but lost the final series to the

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark. ...

. At the end of the season, he was named both

Midwest League Manager of the Year The Midwest League Manager of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best manager in Minor League Baseball's Midwest League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor League Baseball exec ...

and

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

's Class Low-A Minor League Manager of the Year. In 2005, his team finished with a mark of 70-69 (.504) and failed to secure a playoff berth. Joppie worked in the Athletics system in 11 uninterrupted seasons before joining 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 ...

organization as the hitting coach for Class-A

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

in 2006. He then joined Single-A Lancaster JetHawks in 2007, helping the team to a record offensive season in which they set all-time

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

records with 1,081 runs and 217

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 while leading the circuit in batting average (.296),

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

(1,493), and

base on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

(672). He continued his success as a hitting coach upon coming to Double-A

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

in 2008, where he guided the team to the best

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

in the 12-team Eastern League in his first season (.351) and in 2010 (.347). In 2011 the Sea Dogs topped the league in runs (684), doubles (298) and

slugging average In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, a ...

(.422), along with the second best on-base pct. (.339) and the third best in batting average (.267). The Portland hitters batted for a combined .255 average in 2012, while leading the league in doubles (272) and ending fourth in home runs (112). He gained a promotion to Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

for the 2013 season. and returned to Pawtucket in the same capacity in 2014 helping guide the Paw Sox' hitters to the International League championship. For the 2015 season, Joppie headed back to the Double-A

for his tenth and final year with the Boston Red Sox organization. As a batting coach during his Boston tenure, Joppie has been credited for the development of players such as Josh Reddick (2008–2009),

Ryan Kalish Ryan Michael Kalish (born March 28, 1988) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox in 2010 and 2012 and for the Chicago Cubs in 2014 and 2016. A standout high school ...

(2009–2010),

Daniel Nava Daniel James Nava (born February 22, 1983) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Philadelphia Phillie ...

(2009), Ryan Lavarnway (2010–2011), Anthony Rizzo (2010),

Will Middlebrooks William Scott Middlebrooks (born September 9, 1988) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Boston Red Sox on May 2, 2012, and played with them through 2014. He also play ...

(2011), Xander Bogaerts (2012-2013),

Jackie Bradley Jr. Jackie Bradley Jr. (born April 19, 1990), nicknamed "JBJ", is an American professional baseball right fielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays. List ...

(2012-2014) and

Mookie Betts Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts (born October 7, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Boston Red Sox. In 2018, while with the Red Sox, he became ...

(2014). In 2017, Dave signed a contract with the

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 ...

to become the hitting coach for the Single-A Carolina Mudcats of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. On January 31, 2018, Joppie was named hitting coach for the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

, the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate. In 2019, he was named the hitting coach for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joppie, Dave Minor league baseball managers Minor league baseball coaches People from Hastings, Michigan 1965 births Living people Baseball coaches from Michigan Aquinas Saints baseball players