Richard John Down (December 14, 1950 – January 5, 2019) 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 ...

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

. He was the hitting coach 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 ...

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 ...

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Early life

Down never made the majors as a player, making it only to AAA ball (1971 and 1973). Down later went on to coach at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

from 1979 to 1984. He went to professional baseball in 1985–88 as a special assignment coach and roving hitting instructor for the Angels organization. He returned to the Yankees organization in 1989, beginning the season as the club’s roving minor league hitting instructor before being promoted to manager at Triple-A

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

for the final 16 games of the season when

Bucky Dent Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent (born Russell Earl O'Dey; November 25, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978 and ...

was named manager of the Yankees. In 1990, his Double-A Albany club was at a 24-21 mark when he was promoted to manage Columbus in June after

Stump Merrill Carl Harrison "Stump" Merrill (born February 15, 1944) is a former manager in Major League Baseball. Merrill spent 38 years in the New York Yankees organization, including and as the manager of the Yankees, and he also managed several of the Yan ...

was named Yankees manager. In 1990–92, he guided Columbus to three consecutive International League Western Division Titles and two consecutive Governor’s Cup Crowns. His Clippers set a franchise record with 95 wins in 1992. Down’s Columbus team was in first place in 385 of 391 games while he was manager. He later became the hitting instructor for many major league clubs.

Career highlights

*In 2002, the Yankees hit 223 home runs, second most in the American League and second highest single season total in franchise history. *The Yankees led the majors in batting average in each of his first two seasons as a hitting coach (1993–94). In 1994, the team's batting average of .290 was the highest Yankees' average since 1936 (.300) and the highest in the majors since Boston hit .302 in 1950. *He helped guide the 2000 Dodgers to a franchise record 211 home runs. *He led the 1996 Orioles to a then major league record 251 home runs in his first season with the club. *From 1990 to 1992, he served as the manager of the Yankees' Columbus (AAA) team of the International League. He led the 1992 club to a 95-49 record and a Governors' Cup Championship. The 95 victories were a franchise record and were the most wins in the IL since 1960, when Toronto went 100-54. *In three seasons at Columbus, he directed the Clippers to three straight International League West Division titles and two straight Governors' Cups. In three years, he won 242 games and had a winning percentage of .619. *He compiled a 122-273 record (.309 percentage) in six years as a minor league manager. *Spent seven seasons in the minors as an outfielder. Hit .257 with 33 home runs, 247 RBI and 54 stolen bases in 745 games. He was placed on Montreal's major league roster on September 30, 1971. *Down also served as an advance scout for the San Francisco Giants and hitting coach for the Spokane Indians of the Northwest League.

Career timeline

*2014: Spokane Indians (NW League Low A) hitting coach *2008: San Francisco Giants Advance Scout *2005-2007: New York Mets Hitting Coach *2004: New York Yankees Coordinator of Instruction *2002-2003: New York Yankees Hitting Coach *2001: Boston Red Sox Hitting Coach *1999-2000: Los Angeles Dodgers Hitting Coach *1996-1998: Baltimore Orioles Hitting Coach *1994-1995: New York Yankees Hitting Coach *1993: Venezuelan Winter League - Aragua Tigers Manager *1993: New York Yankees Hitting Coach *1992: Venezuelan Winter League - Aragua Tigers Manager *1992: Columbus Clippers (AAA) Manager *1991: Venezuelan Winter League - Aragua Tigers Manager *1990-1991: Columbus Clippers (AAA) Manager *1990: Albany Yankees (AA) Manager *1990: Venezuelan Winter League - Magallanes Sailors Manager *1989: Columbus Clippers (AAA) Manager *1989: New York Yankees Minor League Roving Hitting Instructor *1985-1988: California Angels Special Assignments Coach & Roving Hitting Instructor *1979-1984: University of Nevada-Las Vegas - Assistant Coach *1978: California League - Stockton (A) coach (?) *1977: Northwest League - Bellingham (A) coach (?) *????: Florida State League - West Palm Beach (A) coach {?)

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Down, Rick 1950 births 2019 deaths People from Wyandotte, Michigan American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles coaches Baseball players from Michigan Boston Red Sox coaches California Angels coaches Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Minor league baseball managers New York Mets coaches New York Yankees coaches Gulf Coast Expos players West Palm Beach Expos players Winnipeg Whips players Québec Carnavals players Peninsula Whips players Memphis Blues players Stockton Mariners players San Jose Missions players Toronto Blue Jays scouts