Preston Michael O'Berry (born April 20, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player and minor league

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He played as a

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 catc ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

from 1979 to 1985.

Major league career

O'Berry was drafted at the age of 21 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in the twenty-second round of the 1975 amateur player draft. He made his major league debut with the Red Sox on April 18, 1979. At the end of the 1979 season, O'Berry was traded to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in an earlier deal the Red Sox made for

Ted Sizemore Ted Crawford Sizemore (born April 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from 1969 to 1980 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Chic ...

. O'Berry continued to move from team to team after one or two years, serving as a

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

backup catcher for the Cubs,

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

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

, and

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

before retiring after the 1985 season at the age of 31.

Managerial career

O'Berry managed

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 Nort ...

and independent teams from 1992 to 1998. In his first season, he managed the

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to their first

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

championship title. He stayed in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

organization until 1996, which was the first of his three seasons with the independent Tennessee Tomahawks. After his stint as a

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. Moder ...

manager, O'Berry decided to stay close to home and coach the Pelham High School Panthers. O'Berry coached the team from 2001 to 2006, leading the team to its first state title in 2004. Under his reign, the team gained national recognition and was a powerhouse in the 6A division.

References

External links

Mike O'Berry
– Baseball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Oberry, Mike 1954 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Birmingham, Alabama Boston Red Sox players Bristol Red Sox players California Angels players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Clippers players Edmonton Trappers players High school baseball coaches in the United States Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball catchers Midland Cubs players Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players New York Yankees players Pawtucket Red Sox players South Alabama Jaguars baseball players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Wichita Aeros players Winston-Salem Red Sox players Winter Haven Red Sox players