Mark Ryan Newman (April 20, 1949September 12, 2020) was an American

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 ...

executive. He served as the senior vice president of baseball operations for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

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), ...

and spent 26 years in high-level player development and player personnel posts with their organization. He first joined the Yankees in 1989 after 18 years as a

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

pitching and head coach.

Early career

Newman was born in 1949.Biography from 2007 Michigan speaking appearance
After graduating from high school in

Wheeling, Illinois Wheeling is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Lake County, Illinois, Lake counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it is primarily in Cook County, approximately northwest of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 United Sta ...

, Newman attended

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

, where he played

as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and second baseman for the

Southern Illinois Salukis The Southern Illinois Salukis are the varsity athletic teams representing Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The nickname comes from the Saluki, the Royal Dog of Egypt and the Persian greyhound, which ties into the fact that southern Illin ...

. In 1969, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. He began his coaching career as pitching coach at Southern Illinois from 1972 through 1980, then was head baseball coach at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

(ODU) from 1981–89. In nine seasons at ODU, Newman's teams compiled a winloss record of 321–167–3, won one league championship, and advanced to four conference finals and two

NCAA baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the college athletics, intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to American football, football and basketball, college competition in the Baseball in the United State ...

regionals. He was named Coach of the Year in the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

and in the

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United Stat ...

in 1985 and 1987. Newman earned a law degree from Southern Illinois University in 1978. He was inducted into the halls of fame of both Southern Illinois (2000) and Old Dominion (1997) universities.''New York Yankees 2011 Media Guide'' at scribd.com
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New York Yankees

After the 1989 college season, Newman was appointed the Yankees' coordinator of minor league instruction, serving in that role through 1996 before his promotion to vice president, player development and scouting. During Newman's first decade with the Yankees, the team's

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 ...

produced the core of its

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 ...

-era dynasty that won four world championships in five seasons:

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

Jorge Posada Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta (born August 17, 1970) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Posada recorded a .273 batting average, 275 home runs, and ...

Bernie Williams Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. (born September 13, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and a musician. He played his entire 16-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees from 1991 through 2006. ...

Andy Pettitte Andrew Eugene Pettitte (; born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Yankees. He also pitched for the Houston Astros. Pettitte won fiv ...

, and others. He was promoted in 2000 to senior vice president of baseball operations, based at the Yankees'

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

facilities. In 2010, Minor League Baseball selected him as the winner of the

Sheldon "Chief" Bender Sheldon "Chief" Bender (November 25, 1919 – February 27, 2008) was an American player and manager in minor league baseball and a scout, scouting director and farm system director in Major League Baseball who spent 64 years in the game. Bender i ...

Award, which honors individuals for their distinguished service in player development. Newman retired from the Yankees at the conclusion of the 2014 season.

Death

In retirement, Newman coached youth baseball and basketball in the Tampa area. He died unexpectedly on September 12, 2020, with the ''New York Post'' reporting that he died in his sleep.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Mark 1949 births 2020 deaths Baseball coaches from Illinois Major League Baseball executives Major League Baseball farm directors Major League Baseball scouting directors New York Yankees executives Old Dominion Monarchs baseball coaches Orleans Firebirds players Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Southern Illinois Salukis baseball coaches Southern Illinois Salukis baseball players