Gaylen Richard Pitts (born June 6, 1946) is an American professional

baseball manager ''Baseball Manager'' is a 1963 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. The magna on canvas measures 68 x 56 inches. The painting is visible at Marlins Park LoanDepot Park is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida. It is t ...

and baseball coach, and a former

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

at the

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), ...

level.

Playing career (1964–77)

As a player, Pitts threw and batted right-handed, stood 6'1" (1.85 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). Pitts signed with St. Louis as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

in 1964 after graduating from Mountain Home High School in Arkansas, and reached the Triple-A level with the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

in . The following season, he was acquired by Oakland in a minor league transaction. Pitts' Major League experience came with the Oakland Athletics during brief call-ups during the 1974 and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

seasons. He appeared in 28 games, batted 44 times, and compiled a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .250, with four doubles and four

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. However, Pitts has spent most of his career in the Cardinals' organization. In the minor leagues, Pitts played all four infield positions for 11 total seasons spanning from to .

Coaching and managing career (1978–present)

Pitts' managing career began with two seasons (–) in the A's farm system managing the Modesto A's. He returned to the Cardinals in 1981 as a minor league manager and has spent most of his career with the club. With extensive experience in the minor leagues as a skipper and a roving instructor, Pitts managed at

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

in , and , Savannah in , the Springfield in 1986–87 and Johnson City. He guided Springfield to division titles in 1986 and 1987 and Arkansas to a league championship in 1989, earning him

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

honors. Pitts' first five years coaching for the Major League club occurred from (

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

to 95) on

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

's staff when Torre was the manager of the Redbirds. His coaching roles included hitting (1991), bullpen (

1992 St. Louis Cardinals season The 1992 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 111th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 101st season in the National League. The Cardinals went 83-79 during the season and finished third in the National League East division, 13 games behind ...

), bench coach in 1995. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was winning the Pacific Coast League Championship as manager of the Triple A St. Louis Cardinals affiliate, the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. In extra innings, Albert Pujols who was at the time 20 years old, hit a walk-off home run to win the title. During his most recent managerial assignment, he was the manager of the

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Rog ...

, St. Louis' High-A affiliate in the Florida State League. He opened the season as the Cards' special assistant for player development and served in that role until joining Matheny's staff.

Personal life

With his wife Julia and son Travis Ray, Pitts resides in Mountain Home, Arkansas. His hobbies include

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

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and

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitts, Gaylen Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball third basemen Baseball players from Wichita, Kansas Major League Baseball third base coaches Oakland Athletics players St. Louis Cardinals coaches St. Petersburg Cardinals players Cedar Rapids Cardinals players Modesto Reds players Arkansas Travelers players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players San Jose Missions players Wichita Aeros players Iowa Oaks players Tucson Toros players Living people 1946 births Louisville Redbirds managers Memphis Redbirds managers

Playing career (1964–77)

Coaching and managing career (1978–present)

Personal life

See also

References