Timothy Earl Flannery (born September 29, 1957) is 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), ...

player who spent 11 seasons with 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 ...

, from to . He was the third base coach of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

from 2007 to 2014. He is the nephew of former

player Hal Smith.

Minors

Flannery earned all-league honors while playing for

Anaheim High School Anaheim High School is a public, four-year high school in the city of Anaheim, California, United States and serves students living in the Colony District of Anaheim. Anaheim High School was first established in 1898, which makes it the oldest o ...

, where he was also elected Homecoming King as a senior. He was drafted in the sixth round of the

1978 Major League Baseball draft In 1978, four American baseball players were promoted from amateur baseball to the major leagues, including Arizona State University third baseman Bob Horner, who was selected number one overall by the Atlanta Braves. Oakland High School pitche ...

by the Padres out of

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Standing at 5'11" tall and weighing 175 lbs., Flannery batted left-handed but threw right-handed. In his first season in the minors (), Flannery batted .350 for the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

Reno Silver Sox The Reno Silver Sox were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1947 to 1992. The team name is derived from the nickname of Nevada, the "Silver State". There was another baseball team known as the Reno Silver Sox who played i ...

. In , he batted .345 with six

home runs 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 ...

and 71

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

to receive a September call-up to the majors. Flannery made his major league debut 26 days before his 22nd birthday, and was the eighth youngest player in the majors in 1979. He batted lead-off and played second base against the

Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadium ...

(now Qualcomm Stadium) in his first game on September 3, 1979. Flannery was one for three and drove in the second

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

of the Padres' 3–0 victory. His minor league success did not translate to major league success as he hit just .154 in 65 big 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, with his only extra base hit of the season being a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

. He split between the Padres and their triple A affiliate, the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

. With Hawaii, Flannery batted .346, however, he hit only .240 in the majors that year. In , he only appeared in 37 games and batted .254.

San Diego Padres

On-field performance

Flannery's first full major league season without spending any time in the minors was . It wasn't until his fifth season, , that Flannery hit his first Major League

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 ...

—a solo shot off the

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 ...

Chuck Rainey Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,00 ...

. Flannery reached the post-season for the only time in his career in . He made three plate appearances in the

1984 National League Championship Series The 1984 National League Championship Series was played between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs from October 2 to 7. San Diego won the series three games to two to advance to the World Series. It was the first postseason series ever for ...

and reached base all three times. Trailing 3–2 in game four of the series, Flannery hit a lead-off

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in the fifth inning, and scored the tying

of the Padres' 7–5 victory over the Cubs. In game five, he reached on a ground ball that trickled through the legs of Cubs

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Leon Durham Leon "Bull" Durham (born July 31, 1957) is an American former first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 10 seasons. Durham was a longtime minor league hitting coach, and most recently served as the assistant hitting coac ...

to score the tying run. In his only at-bat in the

1984 World Series The 1984 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1984 season. The 81st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the Nationa ...

, Flannery hit an eighth inning

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

single off

Jack Morris John Scott Morris (born May 16, 1955) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers. Morris won 254 games throughout his career. Armed ...

in game four. Flannery enjoyed his best year the following season. Having been used all over the infield up to this point in his career, he emerged as the Padres' regular second baseman in . He batted .281 with 40 RBIs and 50 runs scored—all career highs. He was used as a bench player for the majority of his career.

He played his final big league game on his 32nd birthday—September 29, . He spent nine seasons with

Eric Show Eric Vaughn Show (; May 19, 1956 – March 16, 1994) was an American professional baseball player who was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the San Diego Padres and holds the team record for most career ...

—longer than any other teammate.

Fan favorite

Though never a star, Flannery was a fan favorite in San Diego for much of his career. Team organist Danny Topaz would greet Flannery's plate appearances with the imposing strains of Wagner's ''

Ride of the Valkyries The "Ride of the Valkyries" (german: Walkürenritt Ritt der Walküren, links=no) refers to the beginning of act 3 of ''Die Walküre'', the second of the four operas constituting Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''. As a separate piece ...

''. His retirement announcement in 1989 resulted in an outpouring of gifts and attention. In his final game, the sellout crowd greeted his first plate appearance with a standing ovation so prolonged that the umpire had to stop play, and following the game, there was discussion on at least one call-in show of whether Flannery's number should be retired.

Coaching

After a two-year hiatus from baseball, he became manager of the Padres'

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

affiliate

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 following season, he led the

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

to a 77–59 record, and in , he was handed the

rein Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding. They are long straps that can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband. Use for ...

s to the triple A Las Vegas Stars. In , he became third base coach for the Padres. He remained with manager

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 ...

's coaching staff through . When Bochy was named manager of the San Francisco Giants for the season, Flannery joined him as

third base 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 decisi ...

for the Giants, where he coached the Giants through three World Series wins in 2010, 2012, and 2014. He announced his retirement on November 25, 2014, saying "I'm going to send myself home safely." On Saturday, September 27, 2008, Flannery changed his number to 60 for one game because

J. T. Snow Jack Thomas Snow Jr. (born February 26, 1968) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball from to , most notably as a member of the San Franci ...

came back from retirement and wore number 6. Snow was taken out before the first pitch.

Broadcasting

From 2004 to 2006, he was a TV and radio broadcaster for the Padres pre- and post-game shows, as well as a color commentator during selected game broadcasts. After he ended his coaching stint with the Giants, he started working for CSN Bay Area as an analyst on Giants Pregame Live and Giants Postgame Live. He was hired as an MLB Network analyst in 2015.

Personal life

He and his wife Donna have a son and two daughters. He is also a bluegrass musician and has released at least a dozen albums since 1997, both solo and with his group, The Lunatic Fringe. He has sung the

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

with

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

and

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940) is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career. After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of ...

of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

several times, including during the 2012 and 2014 playoffs. Flannery has also held benefit concerts in support of injured Giants fan Bryan Stow. Flannery later founded the Love Harder Project to support other victims of violence.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flannery, Tim 1957 births Living people Baseball players from Oklahoma Chapman Panthers baseball players Hawaii Islanders players Las Vegas 51s managers Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third base coaches MLB Network personalities San Diego Padres announcers San Diego Padres coaches San Diego Padres players San Francisco Giants coaches Spokane Indians managers Sportspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma