Anthony Wayne Beasley (born December 5, 1966) is 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 ...

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 ...

. He is the

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 Texas Rangers of

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), ...

(MLB). He previously served as an interim manager for the Texas Rangers and third base coach and minor-league manager in the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

organizations.

Career

Primarily a middle infielder, Beasley spent nine seasons as a player in the minor leagues and batted .260 with 22 homers and 242 RBI in 854 games. He was originally selected by 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 ...

in the 19th round of the

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

June

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

before being acquired by Pittsburgh in a deal for infielder

Tommy Shields Thomas Charles Shields (born August 14, 1964) is an American professional baseball coach and former infielder. Shields was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1992 to 1993 for the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs. In 2021, Shields ...

in September

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

. In his minor league career, Beasley was named to the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

All-Star team in both 1990 and 1991. He also garnered Southern League All-Star laurels in 1996. Beasley began his managerial career with the

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were a ...

in 2001 and led the club to a 46-26 regular season record and a first-place finish; the club was declared co-champions of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

along with Brooklyn. He was named Low Class-A Manager of-the-Year by Baseball America in consecutive seasons with the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

in 2002-03 and to the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

's mid-season All-Star squad in 2003. Beasley guided the Crawdads to the SAL championship and the fifth-best record in the minors in 2002 and was also selected to the leagues post-season All-Star Team. Beasley has spent four seasons as a coach at the Major League level. In 2006, he worked as the third-base coach for the Nationals under manager

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of bot ...

. He then returned to the

' organization, where he had spent nearly all of his career to that point, spending the 2007 season as the Pirates'

Minor League 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 ...

Infield Coordinator, a role in which he was instrumental in prospect

Neil Walker Neil Martin Andrew Walker (born September 10, 1985) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2009–2015), New York Mets (2016–17), Milwaukee Brewers ( ...

's transition from

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

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 ...

during spring training. The following year Beasley returned to major-league coaching as the third-base coach on manager John Russell's staff, and he continued in that role until the end of the 2010 season. In total, Beasley spent 18 years with the Pittsburgh organization. Beasley spent five seasons as a manager in the Pirates' farm system, guiding his club to the post-season in all five years and a combined record of 372-258 (.590 winning pct.) during the regular season. He was tabbed by

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

as the Double-A Manager-of-the-Year in 2004 after guiding Altoona to the Eastern League championship series (his team lost to New Hampshire). Beasley also served the United States National Team as a coach at the MLB Futures Game in Houston during All-Star week in 2004. In , Beasley returned to the Nationals as manager of the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

; then, in –, he skippered Washington's top affiliate, the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. The following year, in 2014, Beasley was the co-field-coordinator of instruction in the

' minor-league system.Nats Insider.com
/ref> In addition to his regular season managerial duties, Beasley also managed the Mesa Desert Dogs during the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

in 2004, guiding the club to an 18-13 record and a first-place finish in the National Division (his club lost out to the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was established ...

in the Championship Series). After serving as a player/coach for the AA

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games a ...

and the Class A

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

in 1998, Beasley began his full-time coaching career as the Hitting Coach with the

GCL Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its h ...

in 1999. He worked in the same capacity with Lynchburg in 2000.

Personal life

On February 19, 2016, Beasley was diagnosed with

rectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of th ...

, forcing him to miss the start of the 2016 season. He was declared cancer-free in December 2016 and returned to his position as third base coach in 2017.

Teams

;As third base coach *

(

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

) Wore #29 *

(

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

– 2010) Wore #29 in 2008–2009 & wore #10 in 2010 * Texas Rangers (

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

– August 15, 2022) Wears #27 ;As interim manager * Texas Rangers (

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

– August 15, 2022) Wears #27 On Wednesday, July 30, 2008 before the game against the Colorado Rockies, Tony Beasley performed the national anthem at the Pirates' home stadium,

PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore (Pittsburgh), North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). It was opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, ...

.''USA Today'', June 30, 2008.
Accessed: December 21, 2013.

Managerial record

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, Tony 1966 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from Virginia Baseball players from Virginia Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Calgary Cannons players Carolina Mudcats players Erie Orioles players Frederick Keys players Liberty Flames baseball players Major League Baseball third base coaches Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Salem Buccaneers players Sportspeople from Fredericksburg, Virginia Syracuse Chiefs managers Texas Rangers coaches Texas Rangers managers Washington Nationals coaches