John Albert Goryl (born October 21, 1933) is an American former

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. ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

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), ...

. A right-handed batter and thrower who stood tall and weighed , Goryl apprenticed in the

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 ...

s of the Boston / Milwaukee Braves and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

for seven full seasons beginning in 1951. He played 117 games for the Cubs over three seasons (– 59), returned to the

minor leagues 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 ...

when he was traded to 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 ...

, then joined 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 for the remainder of his MLB playing career. His finest season was , when he

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 ...

.287 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 in 64 games. Overall, Goryl batted .225 with 134

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in 276

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

over six MLB campaigns. When his playing career ended, Goryl became a manager in the Twins' farm system (– 68;

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

– 78), and third-base coach of the MLB Twins (– 69; – 80). During his second stint as a Minnesota coach in he was named successor to manager

Gene Mauch Gene William Mauch (November 18, 1925 – August 8, 2005) was an American professional baseball player and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers (, ), Pittsburgh Pirates (), Chicago Cubs ...

on August 25. The Twins won 23 of their final 36 games that season, to improve from sixth to third place in the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

, but when they faltered coming out of the gate in — losing 25 of their first 36 games — Goryl was replaced by one of his coaches,

Billy Gardner William Frederick Gardner (born July 19, 1927) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. During his ten-season active career in the major leagues, Gardner was a scrappy, light-hitting second baseman for the New Yo ...

. His career MLB managing record was 34–38 (.472). After his release from the Twins, Goryl joined 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 ...

' organization as a Major League coach (– 88; – 98) and development official in the Indians' minor league system, continuing into the present day as special adviser/player development. He was inducted in the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. Goryl won the

Mike Coolbaugh Award The Mike Coolbaugh Award is presented annually by Minor League Baseball to recognize "an individual who has shown an outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players on the field." It is usually awarde ...

in 2012 for his work ethic, knowledge of the game, and mentoring of young players.

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goryl, Johnny 1933 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Cuba Baseball players from Rhode Island Bluefield Blue-Grays players Chicago Cubs players Cienfuegos players Cleveland Indians coaches Denver Bears players Eau Claire Bears players Eau Claire Braves players Evansville Braves players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Memphis Chickasaws players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Minnesota Twins coaches Minnesota Twins managers Minnesota Twins players Omaha Dodgers players People from Cumberland, Rhode Island St. Paul Saints (AA) players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Wichita Indians players