Ron Plaza
Ronald Charles Plaza (August 24, 1934 – April 15, 2012) was American professional baseball player, coach and manager. Though he never made it to Major League Baseball as a player, he was a coach at the MLB level for the Seattle Pilots, Cincinnati Reds[1] and Oakland Athletics. Later in life, he resided in St. Petersburg, Florida, and worked with Oakland as scout and coach for their minor league operations.[2]
| Ron Plaza | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Plaza in 1969 | |||
| Third baseman | |||
| Born: August 24, 1934 Clifton, New Jersey, United States | |||
| Died: April 15, 2012 (aged 77) Largo, Florida, United States | |||
| |||
| MiLB statistics | |||
| Seasons | 11 | ||
| Batting average | .251 | ||
| Home runs | 65 | ||
| Teams | |||
As manager (minors)
As MLB coach | |||
Career
Born in Clifton, New Jersey, Plaza joined the Johnson City Cardinals in 1951 at just sixteen years old, and batted .302 with four home runs and 34 runs batted in. In 1953, with the Hamilton Cardinals, he led the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League with 37 doubles, was third in the league with 106 RBIs and was fourth in the league in walks. He also committed a league-leading 37 errors at third base.
Plaza shifted to second base with the Rochester Red Wings in 1956, and batted .297 his first season in triple A. His batting average slipped to .221 his second season with Rochester, however, he hit a career-high fourteen home runs.
He wrapped up an eleven-year playing career (all in the St. Louis Cardinals organization) in 1962 with the Atlanta Crackers, and immediately moved into coaching. He managed the 1963 Billings Mustangs to the Pioneer League finals his first season as a coach, and won the Florida State League championship in 1967 with the St. Petersburg Cardinals.[3]
Plaza's first major league coaching job was the first base and hitting coach for the Seattle Pilots in 1969. Pilots General Manager Marvin Milkes let Plaza go along with the rest of the coaching staff as the team struggled with bankruptcy and a host of other issues after completing their one and only season in Major League Baseball.[4] His term with the Pilots earned him mention in Jim Bouton's book Ball Four, as "The Drill Instructor."
He coached in the Cincinnati Reds' farm system following his stint in Seattle, and joined the big league club following the 1977 season.[5] After succeeding Alex Grammas as Cincinnati's third base coach in 1979, he was shifted to first base coach in June of 1979 by manager John McNamara because of Reds' baserunners being thrown out at home plate after being waved in by Plaza.[6] He was also first base coach in 1983.
See also
References
- "Reds' coaches, player take move in their stride". Kentucky New Era. Associated Press. 5 October 1983. p. C1.
- "A's instructor Ron Plaza dies at 77". ESPN. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- Hal Bamford (September 9, 1967). "Card Bats Drown Twin Hopes". St. Petersburg Evening Independent.
- Larry Hug (October 16, 1969). "Plaza Dismissed". St. Petersburg Evening Independent.
- "Reds Sign Plaza as Fifth Coach". The Day. November 2, 1977.
- "Reds Head Shifts Coaches Plaza, Nixon". Schenectady Gazette. June 21, 1979.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Ron Plaza at B-R Bullpen
| Preceded by Franchise established |
Seattle Pilots first base coach 1969 |
Succeeded by Roy McMillan (Milwaukee Brewers) |
| Preceded by Alex Grammas |
Cincinnati Reds third base coach 1979 |
Succeeded by Russ Nixon |