Gary Martin Allenson (born February 4, 1955) is an American 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), ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

and

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 ...

and minor league

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. In , he spent a second stint as manager of the

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seaso ...

of the Double-A Eastern League, after serving the previous three seasons in that role with the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

of the International League. Both are affiliates of the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. In October 2017, Allenson and the Blue Jays severed their relationship. A former backup catcher for the Blue Jays, he had been a member of the Toronto player development organization since January 7, 2013.

Playing career

Nicknamed "Muggsy," Allenson was born in Culver City, California, and graduated from nearby Lawndale High School. He played college baseball for the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member ...

, then was selected by the

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 eigh ...

in the ninth round of the 1976 amateur draft. In 1978, his third season of professional baseball, he was named the International League's All-Star catcher and Most Valuable Player after slugging 20 home runs and hitting .299 in 133 games played. During his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season in the Majors, Allenson was the Red Sox' most-used starting catcher, filling in for injured veteran and future Baseball Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk. After Fisk's departure via free agency after the 1980 season, Allenson was Boston's regular catcher in both and . For the remainder of his playing tenure (1979–85) in the Major Leagues, however, he was a backup for the Red Sox (1980–81; 1984) and Blue Jays (1985). The , Allenson batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. In a seven-season MLB career, he posted a .221

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 235 hits, 19

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 ...

s and 131 RBI in 416 games played.

Coaching/managing career

Allenson began his minor league managerial career in 1987 with the

Oneonta Yankees Oneonta may refer to several places: Communities *Oneonta, New York, A small city and inspiration for some of the other "Oneontas" *Oneonta (town), New York, a town that surrounds the City of Oneonta *Oneonta, Alabama, Blount County * Oneonta, Ke ...

of the

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

farm system. Compiling an 89–62 record in two years, he led the team to the New York – Penn League championship in 1988. He returned to the Red Sox organization in 1989, first managing at Lynchburg for two seasons (128–146) and then New Britain for one (47–93). He was promoted to Boston, serving as bullpen

in 1992 and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

and third-base coach in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

.Gary Allenson (managing & coaching history) – The Baseball Cube.
/ref> He returned to the minors in 1996, managing the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

, then a Texas Rangers affiliate, to a 63–78 record, moving on to the Houston Astros farm system the following year to manage the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

to a 66–73 mark. He then spent the next five campaigns in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, the first two leading Louisville, known as the Redbirds in 1998 and the RiverBats in 1999, to a combined 140–148 mark. He was brought up to Milwaukee, where he was the first-base coach in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

and the third-base coach in 2001 and 2002. A 77–57 campaign in 2005 at the helm of the

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, and play their home games at Five County Stadium. ...

, then a

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

affiliate, was sandwiched between two stints in 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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

organization. He managed the

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal ...

to a 79–65 finish in 2003. After a 31–37 year as skipper of the

Bluefield Orioles Bluefield may refer to: *Bluefield, Virginia, US *Bluefield, West Virginia, US *Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also *Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the ...

in 2006, he returned to the International League to manage the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

to a combined 228–254 in a little over seasons. Allenson was promoted to Baltimore as its third-base coach on June 4, 2010, when

Juan Samuel Juan Milton Samuel (born December 9, 1960) is a Dominican former professional baseball second baseman / outfielder, who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), for the Philadelphia Phillies (1983–1989), New York Mets (1989), Los A ...

was promoted to interim

upon the firing of

Dave Trembley David Michael Trembley (born October 31, 1951) is an American professional baseball executive who served as director of player development of the Atlanta Braves in . Trembley has been the bench coach for the Houston Astros, and a manager of the B ...

. Allenson returned to manage the Tides in then was the manager of the

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of the ...

, the Orioles' Short Season-Class A affiliate. Allenson rejoined the Toronto organization in as manager of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, leading that edition to a 68–72 mark, then was promoted to Buffalo, where his Bisons teams went 77–66 (), 68–76 () and 66–78 (). He was reappointed manager of the Fisher Cats on January 17, 2017. Through 2016, Allenson had compiled a career 1,311–1,440 (.477) record over 22 seasons as a minor league manager.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Allenson, Gary 1955 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baltimore Orioles coaches Baseball coaches from California Baseball players at the 1975 Pan American Games Baseball players from California Boston Red Sox coaches Boston Red Sox players Bristol Red Sox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) managers International League MVP award winners Louisville Redbirds managers Louisville Bats managers Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches New Hampshire Fisher Cats managers Norfolk Tides managers Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Culver City, California Sun City Rays players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players Winter Haven Red Sox players Winter Haven Super Sox players Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Lawndale High School alumni Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games