Gene Clines
Eugene Anthony Clines (born October 6, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1970 to 1979, most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won four National League Eastern Division titles in five seasons between 1970 and 1974 and, won the World Series in 1971. He also played for the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, and the Chicago Cubs. Clines was the hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs from 2005 to 2006. From 2003 to 2004, he was the team's first base coach before being promoted to hitting coach. He batted and threw right-handed.
| Gene Clines | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Clines in 1972 | |||
| Outfielder | |||
| Born: October 6, 1946 San Pablo, California | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| June 28, 1970, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 8, 1979, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .277 | ||
| Home runs | 5 | ||
| Runs batted in | 187 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
| |||
Playing career
Clines is a 1966 graduate of Harry Ells High School in Richmond, California. In a 10-season career, Clines posted a .277 batting average with 187 RBI, 71 stolen bases, and five home runs in 870 games.
A fast runner with excellent defensive skills, Clines debuted in 1970 with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a reserve outfielder, hitting .405 (15-for-37) in 31 games in his rookie year. He went to the postseason with Pittsburgh in the 1971, 1972 and 1974 National League Championship Series, winning a World Series ring with the Pirates in 1971. His most productive season came in 1972, when he posted career-highs in average (.334), doubles (15), and triples (6) in 107 games. Clines also played with the New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs, and retired during the 1979 campaign and took over the Cubs' first base coaching duties. He had been traded from the Mets to the Rangers for Joe Lovitto on December 12, 1975.[1]
Coaching career
Clines remained with the Cubs as first base coach under manager Bob Kennedy until 1981, then joined the Houston Astros organization as a roving minor league hitting instructor, a position he held through 1987. Later he worked as a hitting coach for Houston in 1988 and spent six seasons as a hitting coach in the American League for the Seattle Mariners (1989–92) and Milwaukee Brewers (1993–94) before start a six-year stint with the San Francisco Giants as a hitting coach and outfield coach (1995–2002), as he guided National League MVP Award winners Jeff Kent (2000) and Barry Bonds (2001 and 2002). During the 2002 World Series with the Giants he wore a microphone for FOX and when Bonds hit his first career World Series home run he screamed, "OH MY GOD!"
In 2003, Clines returned to the Chicago Cubs as their first base coach. He was named hitting coach prior to the 2005 season. 2006 was his 20th season on a major league coaching staff.
In 2007, he assumed the position of outfield and base running coordinator for the Los Angeles Dodgers system. In 2010, he was promoted to the position of Senior Advisor, Player Development with the Dodgers.
References
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Baseball Library, or Retrosheet
- Chicago Cubs official site
| Preceded by Denis Menke |
Houston Astros hitting coach 1988 |
Succeeded by Yogi Berra |
| Preceded by |
Seattle Mariners hitting coach 1989–1992 |
Succeeded by Ken Griffey |
| Preceded by Mike Easler |
Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach 1993–1994 |
Succeeded by Lamar Johnson |
| Preceded by Bobby Bonds |
San Francisco Giants hitting coach 1997–2002 |
Succeeded by Joe Lefebvre |
| Preceded by Sandy Alomar |
Chicago Cubs first base coach 2003–2004 |
Succeeded by Gary Matthews |
| Preceded by Gary Matthews |
Chicago Cubs hitting coach 2005–2006 |
Succeeded by Gerald Perry |