James Franklin Pankovits (born August 6, 1955 in

Pennington Gap, Virginia Pennington Gap is the most populous town in Lee County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census. The Lee Regional Medical Center was in Pennington Gap until it closed in October 2013, and the United States Penitentiar ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

, 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), ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

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 ...

. In MLB, he appeared in 318

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

, 316 of them with the

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 ...

. Pankovits was a manager in the minor leagues for 17 years, most recently in 2019 with the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

, the High-A affiliate of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Professional career

The , Pankovits was selected by the Astros in the fourth round of the

1976 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1976 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The 1976 Arizona State University team, considered by ma ...

from the University of South Carolina. During his six-year Major League career (1984–88; 1990), Pankovits was used primarily as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

and occasional second baseman. In one instance, he even caught an inning of a gam

In his career, he batting average (baseball), hit .250 with nine

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 and 55 RBI. His best season came in as a member of the

National League West Division The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

champion Astros, when he hit .283 in 70 games as the primary back up to Bill Doran. Late in his playing career, Pankovits appeared in two games 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 eight ...

in September as defensive replacement—without logging a

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

—then began his managing career in the Red Sox'

farm system 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 ...

in 1992. He returned to the Astro organization in 1995, serving through 2010 as a minor league manager at the Class A, Short Season-A and Double-A levels, and as a roving infield instructor. He then joined the Mariners' system in 2011 as manager of the Double-A

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...

Generals A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...

of the Southern League. Coincidentally, he had managed a different franchise with the same name—the

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

—in 1998–99 when it was an Astro affiliate. After three seasons (2011–13) as Jackson's pilot, Pankovits assumed a position with the Mariners in as a roving minor league infield instructor. His career record as a minor-league manager is 938–1,010 (.482). As the manager of Mahoning Valley of the

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 ...

, he is a member of the

' organization.

Youth and college baseball

Pankovits played in

1968 Little League World Series The Little League World Series took place between August 20 and August 24 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Wakayama Little League of Osaka, Japan, defeated the Tuckahoe Little League of Richmond, Virginia, in the championship game of the 22nd ...

for the Tuckahoe Little League team from

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, that was U.S. national champions and the LLWS runner-up. He also was a member of runner-up

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

during the 1975 College World Series

PANKOVITS—The System

In 2007, the Astros introduced a player analysis formula in his honor. The brain child of then-

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Tim Purpura Timothy Gerard Purpura (born March 19, 1958 in Oak Lawn, Illinois) is an American baseball executive and former lawyer. He is the former General Manager of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball team. He was with the club from 2005 to 2007. Bi ...

, PANKOVITS is an acronym for Player Analysis with Neutral Knowledge of Offensively Vital Information Tracking Statistics. It is credited in some circles with predicting the success of

Hunter Pence Hunter Andrew Pence (born April 13, 1983), nicknamed "The Reverend", is an American former professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San F ...

and the failure of

Woody Williams Woody may refer to: Biology * Pertaining to wood, a plant tissue and material * Woody plant, a plant with a rigid stem containing wood * Pertaining to woodland, land covered with trees * Woody, slang for a penile erection People and fictional c ...

during the 2007 season."They Swing Their SABRs."

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

November 2, 2007.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
*2001 interview with Jim Pankovit

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pankovits, Jim 1955 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players Baseball players from Virginia Boston Red Sox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charleston Charlies players Cocoa Astros players Columbus Astros players Covington Astros players Hawaii Islanders players Houston Astros players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Minor league baseball managers Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Pennington Gap, Virginia San Bernardino Pride players South Carolina Gamecocks baseball players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Toros players University of South Carolina alumni Minor league baseball coaches