Ronald Bryan Coomer (born November 18, 1966), nicknamed "Coom Dawg", is a former

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 ...

and

third baseman 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 u ...

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 (A ...

and the current color analyst and play-by-play broadcaster for 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 locate ...

radio on WSCR 670 AM. Coomer had a nine-year major league career from to playing for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

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 ...

, and

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) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

. He was elected to the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

All-Star team in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

while with the Twins. During his baseball career he opened up a baseball facility in

Orland Park, Illinois Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, Orland Park had a population of 58,703. Located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Ch ...

, called C.F. Swingtown Baseball Academy, which is no longer owned by Coomer.

Baseball career

Coomer was drafted by 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 t ...

in the 14th round of the 1987 amateur draft. After one season, he was released by the A's. He was signed by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

on March 18, 1991. In 1993, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for

Isidro Márquez Isidro Márquez Espinoza (born May 14, 1965) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox. Career Márquez played during one season at the major league level for the Chicag ...

. After two seasons in the minors, Coomer was traded to the Minnesota Twins with

Greg Hansell Gregory Michael Hansell (born March 12, 1971) is a former baseball pitcher. Career Hansell played for four different major league ballclubs during his career: the Los Angeles Dodgers (1995), Minnesota Twins (1996), Milwaukee Brewers (1997), and P ...

and José Parra for

Mark Guthrie Mark Andrew Guthrie (born September 22, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for several teams between 1989 and 2003 and was a member of the 1991 World Series Champion Minnesota Twins. Career After graduating from ...

and

Kevin Tapani Kevin Ray Tapani (born February 18, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs from 1989 to 2001. Early life Tapani was raised in Es ...

. Coomer spent five seasons with the Twins, with whom he made the All-Star team in 1999. After the emergence of third baseman

Corey Koskie Cordel Leonard "Corey" Koskie (born June 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Milwaukee Brewers. On February 4, 2015, Koskie was ele ...

, Coomer began to lose playing time. In his last year as a Twin,

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 ...

, Koskie started the majority of the games at third and Coomer was shifted to first base. In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, Coomer signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago Cubs. He hit .261/.316/.390 in his only year in Chicago before becoming a free agent. Coomer signed a one-year deal with the New York Yankees in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

as a reserve third baseman. He started 26 games for the Yankees at third. He joined the Dodgers the

next year "Next Year" is a song released as the last single from the third Foo Fighters (band), Foo Fighters' album ''There Is Nothing Left to Lose''. History A shorter version (running at just 3:21 compared to the original's 4:36) was released as a s ...

, where he mainly played first base. Coomer's offensive production dipped to .240/.299/.368 and after that year he retired from baseball.

Broadcasting

In 2012 and 2013, Coomer was a

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

for

Fox Sports North Bally Sports North is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as a Bally Sports affiliate. The channel broadcasts coverage of sporting events involving teams located in the Upper Midwest region, with a focu ...

, the Minnesota Twins' primary television broadcaster. He also regularly appeared on KTWN-FM, the primary radio affiliate for the Minnesota Twins. On December 12, 2013, it was reported that Coomer would succeed

Keith Moreland Bobby Keith Moreland (born May 2, 1954), nicknamed "Zonk", is a former outfielder, catcher and infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and San Diego Padres. In 1989, the final year of his career, ...

as the analyst on the

Chicago Cubs Radio Network The Chicago Cubs Radio Network comprises 30 stations in six states. Pat Hughes has been the play-by-play announcer since 1996. From 1996 to 2010, Hughes was partnered with Ron Santo. After Santo's death, Keith Moreland took over as color analy ...

. He is partnered with longtime broadcaster Pat Hughes.

References

External links

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coomer, Ron 1966 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players American League All-Stars Baseball players from Chicago Birmingham Barons players Caribes de Oriente players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Chicago Cubs announcers Chicago Cubs players Huntsville Stars players Iowa Cubs players Los Angeles Dodgers players Madison Muskies players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Medford A's players Minnesota Twins announcers Minnesota Twins players Modesto A's players Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees players People from Will County, Illinois Taft Cougars baseball players Vero Beach Dodgers players