Robert Michael Picciolo (February 4, 1953 – January 3, 2018) was a

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), ...

player and coach.

Playing career

Picciolo played nine seasons in the major leagues, from 1977–85, for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, and

California Angels 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 ...

, where he was primarily 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 who ...

; he also played

third base 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 ...

and second base. In 1,628 major league

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s, he walked only 25 times. Picciolo spent 20 years in the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

organization after a nine-year big league career playing for the Athletics, Brewers, and Angels.

Post-playing career

He was a minor league manager with the Class-A Short Season

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

in the Northwest League in 1986 and 1987, winning the League and Division titles in his second season there, then was a roving infield instructor the following two years before being promoted to the Padres big league coaching staff midway through the 1990 season. There, he served under Padres managers

Greg Riddoch Gregory Lee Riddoch (born July 17, 1945 in Greeley, Colorado) is a retired American professional baseball player, manager and coach who served as manager of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball from July 12, 1990 through September 22, 199 ...

Jim Riggleman James David Riggleman (born November 9, 1952) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) manager and bench coach who coached with several teams between 1989 and 2019. He is currently the manager for the Billings Mustangs of the independent ...

and

Bruce Bochy Bruce Douglas Bochy (; born April 16, 1955), nicknamed "Boch" and "Headly", is an American professional baseball manager and former catcher who is the current manager of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the San Diego ...

as a first base coach (mid-1990-92), a bench coach (1993–2002) and third base coach (2003–05). Picciolo was the longest-tenured

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 ...

history, serving 16 consecutive years between and . From 2006 to 2010, he served as the Angels' roving infield instructor. He was then named the Angels' bench coach for manager

Mike Scioscia Michael Lorri Scioscia (, ; born November 27, 1958), nicknamed "Sosh" and "El Jefe", is an American former Major League Baseball catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Ange ...

on November 10, 2010. He was fired by the Angels on October 8, 2013.

Personal life

Picciolo graduated from Westchester High School in 1971, earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and played one season of baseball in

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

. He earned All-District honors and helped Pepperdine to first place in the WCC and a spot in the NCAA District Playoffs. Picciolo died on January 3, 2018, aged 64, from a heart attack. He was survived by his wife Debbie and two sons, Breton and Dustin, who both attended Pepperdine University in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malibu ...

. Breton was a former staffer in the Padres communications department.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet

{{DEFAULTSORT:Picciolo, Rob 1953 births 2018 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada American people of Italian descent Baseball players from Santa Monica, California Birmingham A's players California Angels players Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim coaches Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball shortstops Milwaukee Brewers players Minor league baseball managers Oakland Athletics players Pepperdine University alumni Pepperdine Waves baseball players San Diego Padres coaches San Jose Missions players Santa Monica College alumni Santa Monica Corsairs baseball players Spokane Indians managers Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Toros players Vancouver Canadians players Westchester High School (Los Angeles) alumni