Douglas Eugene Simons (born September 15, 1966) is a former

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), ...

pitcher who played for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

(1991) and

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

(1992).

Early life and draft

Prior to playing professionally, Simons attended

Calabasas High School Calabasas High School is a four-year high school in Calabasas, California, United States. Calabasas High School, which serves Calabasas and portions of West Hills, Los Angeles, is one of three high schools in the Las Virgenes Unified School Dis ...

Calabasas, California Calabasas (from Spanish language, Spanish ''calabazas'' "gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Monica and Santa Susana Mountains, Santa Susanna mounta ...

and then

Oxnard College Oxnard College is a public community college in Oxnard, California. It was established in 1975 by the Ventura County Community College District. It serves the Oxnard Plain cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, and Port Hueneme. Oxnard College offers both ...

and

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

. He was drafted by major league teams twice. In 1987, he was selected by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in the 45th round of the draft, but did not sign. He was next drafted by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in the ninth round of the 1988 amateur draft and did sign. In the 1990 Rule 5 draft, he was selected by the Mets from the Twins.

Major league career

Simons made his major league debut on April 9, 1991 at the age of 24. Pitching for the Mets, he made 42 appearances in his rookie season and went 2–3 with a 5.19 ERA. In 60 2/3 innings, he allowed 55 hits and 19 walks, while striking out 38 batters. On April 2, 1992, he was traded to the Expos for minor league player Rob Katzaroff. He appeared in seven games for the Expos in 1992 and went 0–0 with a 23.63 ERA. In 5 1/3 innings, he allowed 15 hits and two walks. He struck out six batters. He played his final major league game on September 24, 1992. Overall, Simons went 2–3 with a 6.68 ERA in 49 big league appearances. In 66 innings, he allowed 70 hits and 21 walks, while striking out 44 batters.

Minor league career

Simons pitched in the minor leagues from 1988 to 1990 and from 1992 to 1997. He played in the Twins (1988–1990), Expos (1992–1993),

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

(1994) and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

(1996) systems, and in 1995 he pitched for the

Mobile Baysharks Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

of the independent

Texas–Louisiana League The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas–Louisiana League, was a independent baseball league whose member teams were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron P ...

. Overall, he went 72–54 with a 3.46 ERA in 193 games (148 starts). He showed flashes of excellence at times – for example, he went 13–5 with a 2.63 ERA for the

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 ...

and

Orlando Twins Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

in 1989 and in 1990, he went 15–12 with a 2.54 ERA for Orlando. In 1995, he went 4–2 with a 2.94 ERA for the Mobile Baysharks.

International career

Simons pitched for the Rimini Pirates in the Italian Serie A1 in 1997. He also played winter ball with the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

club of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

during the 1993–1994 season.

Post-playing career

Simons served as the pitching coach for the

Pittsfield Mets The Pittsfield Mets were a minor league baseball based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and played their home games Wahconah Park. The team previously played as the Little Falls Mets from Little Falls, New York before an investment group organized by ...

in 1998 and 1999, the

Capital City Bombers Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

in 2000 and 2001. He later scouted for the Texas Rangers from 2002–2005. In August 2005 he became the head coach of the

Covenant College Covenant College is a private, liberal arts, Christian college in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, located near Chattanooga, Tennessee. As the college of the Presbyterian Church in America, Covenant teaches subjects from a Reformed theological wor ...

baseball team.College Page

References

External links

, o

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The Baseball Gauge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simons, Doug 1966 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Bakersfield, California American expatriate baseball players in Italy Indianapolis Indians players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Mobile Baysharks players Montreal Expos players New York Mets players Omaha Royals players Orlando Sun Rays players Orlando Twins players Ottawa Lynx players People from Calabasas, California Pepperdine University alumni Pepperdine Waves baseball players Rimini Baseball Club players Tucson Toros players Visalia Oaks players