Donald Paul Werner (born March 8, 1953) is a retired

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), ...

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 during seven seasons at the major league level, playing for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and

Texas Rangers (baseball) The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Rangers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. In 20 ...

. In 1978, the Reds starting catcher,

Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...

, sat out 20 plus games with an injury which gave Don a starting role. On June 16 of the same year he caught the only no-hitter of Hall of Famer

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...

's career. He was drafted by the Reds in the 5th round of the amateur draft after graduating from Appleton East High School. Werner played his first professional season with their Rookie League

Gulf Coast Reds The Arizona Complex League Reds are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is composed m ...

in 1971, and his last with Texas' Triple-A club, the

Oklahoma RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

in .

Coaching

Since retiring as a player, he has been a minor league manager and coach. Werner was in 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 penna ...

chain for seven seasons. He joined 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

organization as coach of the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shore ...

in 2003–2004. He was the skipper of the

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

in 2005–2006. After the 2006 season he was named minor league catching instructor for the Orioles. On June 20, 2011, he was named bullpen coach for the Baltimore Orioles, replacing Rick Adair, who had been promoted to interim pitching coach following the resignation of then pitching coach

Mark Connor Mark Peter Connor (born May 27, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers. Before his coaching career, he was a minor league pitcher from 1971 through 1972 who batted and threw right-handed ...

. Werner then resumed his former post of minor league catching instructor for Baltimore in 2012.

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Don 1953 births Living people Baseball players from Wisconsin Birmingham Barons players Cincinnati Reds players Denver Bears players Gulf Coast Reds players Idaho Falls Braves players Indianapolis Indians players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball catchers Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers Nashville Sounds players Oklahoma City 89ers players Richmond Braves players San Diego Padres scouts Sportspeople from Appleton, Wisconsin Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Texas Rangers players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Trois-Rivières Aigles players Wichita Aeros players Appleton East High School alumni