Richard John Berardino (born July 2, 1937) is a player development consultant 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 eigh ...
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). A former
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 c ...
and longtime
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 ...
in
Minor League Baseball, he also spent three years (1989–1991) as a
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 ...
with the Red Sox. As a player, Berardino batted and threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed .
Biography
Berardino was a three-sport star at
Watertown, Massachusetts
Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End.
Waterto ...
,
High School
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
. He graduated from the
College of the Holy Cross in 1959
[
] after leading the Crusaders to the 1958
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
District One
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 ...
championship. Upon graduation, he signed with the
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
batted .378 in his first professional season, with the
Modesto Reds
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- ...
of the
Class C California League. He reached
Triple-A for three seasons (1962–1964), playing for the
Richmond Virginians,
Indianapolis Indians and
Spokane Indians
The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...
, but never broke through to the major league level. In total, Berardino appeared in 812 minor league games, and
batted .272 with 702
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
s and 70
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.
Baseball Reference
/ref>
Berardino compiled a record of 753 wins and 858 losses (.467) with two championships in 21 seasons (1966–1967; 1971–1985; 1987–1988; 1997–1998) as a minor league manager. Nineteen of those 21 seasons were spent in short-season leagues. Berardino managed two full-season Class A clubs, the Greensboro Hornets
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
of the 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 ...
in 1987, and the Lynchburg Red Sox 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 ...
the following season. His managing career began in the Yankee organization, where he handled Rookie-level clubs in the Gulf Coast League
The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...
and Appalachian League. In 1968, Berardino joined the Red Sox organization as a minor league coach, and 2017 marked his 50th consecutive year with Boston. From 1971 through 1985, he spent 15 consecutive seasons as the manager of the Red Sox' 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 ...
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 ...
farm team
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 ...
s, the Williamsport Red Sox and the Elmira Pioneers (also known as the ''Red Sox'' and ''Suns'' during his 13-year tenure there). Berardino returned to the New York–Penn League a dozen years later, in 1997–1998, as manager of the Lowell Spinners
The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...
.
In addition to his minor league managerial and coaching assignments, and his three years as bullpen 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 decisi ...
and third-base coach on the major league staff of Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...
in Boston, he also had roles with the Red Sox as spring training coordinator, assistant field coordinator of minor league instruction, and roving outfield and baserunning coach.
Berardino's grandson, Ryan Berardino, was selected by the Red Sox in the 34th round of the 2019 MLB draft
The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...
out of Bentley University
Bentley University is a private university focused on business, accountancy, and finance and located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham ...
. Ryan Berardino's other grandfather is former Red Sox player Dwight Evans.
Sources
* ''Red Sox Organization Book''. Boston: Howe News Bureau, 1983.
* Red Sox 2008 Media Guide.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berardino, Dick
1937 births
Living people
Amarillo Gold Sox players
Binghamton Triplets players
Boston Red Sox coaches
Columbus Confederate Yankees players
Greensboro Yankees players
Holy Cross Crusaders baseball players
Indianapolis Indians players
Lowell Spinners managers
Major League Baseball bullpen coaches
Major League Baseball third base coaches
Modesto Reds players
People from Watertown, Massachusetts
Richmond Virginians (minor league) players
Spokane Indians players
Baseball players from Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Watertown High School (Massachusetts) alumni