Stubby Clapp

Richard Keith "Stubby" Clapp (born February 24, 1973) is a Canadian first base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals and is also a former Triple-A manager and professional baseball player. He played for 11 years, most notably within the St. Louis Cardinals organization, including a brief stint in Major League Baseball with the Cardinals. In his native Canada, he is best remembered for his performance at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, where he hit a bases-loaded single in the 11th inning to beat a more experienced U.S. team and put Canada in the semifinals. Canada eventually won the bronze medal.

Stubby Clapp
Clapp being honored at AutoZone Park in 2016
St. Louis Cardinals – No. 82
Second baseman / First base coach
Born: (1973-02-24) February 24, 1973
Windsor, Ontario
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 18, 2001, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
October 4, 2001, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
Batting average.200
Home runs0
Runs batted in1
Teams
As player

As coach

Early life

In his youth, Stubby Clapp could be considered a two-sport athlete, having distinguished himself through the Windsor minor hockey system. After playing Bantam hockey in Windsor, Clapp played an important role for the Windsor Bulldogs (now the LaSalle Vipers) from 1990–1992. In 1991, the Bulldogs clinched first place during the regular season and Clapp scored five goals during the playoffs. For the 1991–1992 season, he was named captain of the team.[1]

Baseball career

Clapp graduated from Texas Tech University, where he played for the Red Raiders baseball team. He still holds (or shares) the Red Raiders' records for triples in a season (eight), runs in game (five, three times), strikeouts in a game (four) and walks in a season (66), both set during the 1996 season.[2] He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 36th round (1,058th overall) of 1996 amateur entry draft. In 1998, when playing for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, he led the league with 86 walks and 139 games played. He remains popular among Travelers fans to this day.

In 1999, Clapp was part of the Canadian team at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg. A popular player with his teammates, Clapp became a minor media celebrity within Canada after his game-winning, bases-loaded single against the U.S. team.

In 2000, he led the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds with 138 hits, 89 runs, 80 walks, eight triples, and six sacrifice hits.[3]

He was part of Team Canada in the 2004 Summer Olympics who finished in fourth place. He also played for Canada in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. In three games, Clapp hit .154, with a triple and an RBI.

Clapp played 23 games in 2001 for the St. Louis Cardinals. Clapp had five hits in 25 at-bats, including two doubles and one RBI.[4]

Clapp became a popular figure in Memphis, Tennessee during his four-year stint (1999–2002) with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. He was often referred to as the "Mayor of Memphis".[5] During the 2002 season, the 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Clapp was featured on a growth chart for kids, sponsored by a Memphis-area medical group. In 2009, he was named one of the Memphis "Athletes of the Decade".[6] In 2010, the club had "Ode to Clapping Night", which included giving away Clapp bobbleheads.[7] Clapp was notable for doing a backflip every time he went onto the field.

Clapp was also popular in Syracuse, New York, and other cities where he played.[8]

In 911 minor league games, Clapp had a .270 batting average, 48 home runs, 50 triples, 196 doubles, 365 RBI, and 83 steals. Clapp also pitched in three games. In ​2 1⁄3 innings, Clapp has given up two hits and no earned runs.

He also played for the Edmonton Cracker Cats. In 2006, Clapp played for Canada in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. He was one of two second basemen on the roster and drove in a run.

Post-playing career

On April 21, 2007, Clapp's jersey #10 was the first number ever retired by the Memphis Redbirds,.[9] This is commemorated by a painted "10" on the wall above the Redbirds' bullpen at AutoZone Park. He is second all-time for the Memphis Redbirds for games played (425) and hits (418).[6]

Clapp began his coaching career as a hitting coach for the Lexington Legends, the Houston Astros "A" ball team in the South Atlantic League. He came out of retirement to represent Canada at the 2008 Beijing Olympics,[10] and was named to the roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic.[11]

In November 2010, Clapp became the hitting coach for the Corpus Christi Hooks, Houston's Double-A affiliate.

Clapp managed the Tri-City ValleyCats, a Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.[12]

In January 2013, Clapp was hired as the hitting coach for the Dunedin Blue Jays, Toronto's Advanced-A affiliate.[13] On December 19, 2014, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats announced that he would be their new hitting coach.[14]

Clapp was third base coach for the gold medal-winning Canada national baseball team at the 2015 Pan American Games in July 2015.[15]

On November 30, 2016, the Cardinals named Clapp manager of the Memphis Redbirds.[16] During the 2017 season, Memphis celebrated Clapp's backflipping antics by hosting a bobblehead night featuring Clapp performing his signature move in bobblehead form. On the field, Clapp led the Redbirds to win the 2017 American Conference Southern Division title and was selected as the 2017 PCL Manager of the Year.[17] The Redbirds became the 2017 PCL champions after defeating the El Paso Chihuahuas in five games in the league championship final.[18] Baseball America named Clapp their Minor League Manager of the Year for 2017, becoming the first Cardinals minor league manager to win the award.[19]

In 2018, Clapp again managed Memphis to the PCL title, defeating the Fresno Grizzlies in 4 games.[20] The Redbirds went on to defeat the International League champion Durham Bulls in the AAA Championship Game.[21] Clapp was also named the 2018 PCL Manager of the Year, making him just the third manager in PCL history to win the award in consecutive seasons.[22]

On October 29, 2018, the St. Louis Cardinals announced Clapp will be their first base coach for the 2019 season.[23]

Personal life

Clapp is "Stubby the Third", a nickname passed on from his father and grandfather.[24] He is married with a pair of sons, Cooper (nicknamed Stubby IV) and Cannan, and a daughter, Crosby.[6]

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References
  1. Windsor Bulldogs Official Program 1991–92 (October 1991) Bulldogs Profile – #17 Stubby Clapp, p.31.
  2. Texas Tex baseball records Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine texastech.com (accessed June 13, 2010)
  3. Cardinals' Media Relations, ed. (2001). St. Louis Cardinals 2001 Media Guide. Hadler Printing Company. pp. A-56–A57, D-23.
  4. "ESPN Stubby Clapp Stats".
  5. Edes, Gordon Stubby stumps for Canada Yahoo sports, March 6, 2009 (accessed June 13, 2010)
  6. Murtaugh, Frank Memphis Athletes of the Decade: #5 — Stubby Clapp Memphis Flyer, August 17, 2009 (accessed June 13, 2010)
  7. Morgan, Marlon W. 'Rhino,' dogs, Stubby get day at AutoZone Park Commercial Appeal, June 10, 2010 (accessed June 13, 2010)
  8. Druzin, Randi Stubby Clapp Time magazine, July 30, 2004 (accessed June 13, 2010)
  9. Parkinson, Kyle Redbirds retire Royals, 4-2 minorleaguebaseball.com (accessed June 13, 2010)
  10. "CBC Olympics – Clapp to play for Canada at Beijing Olympics". 2008-05-16. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  11. TSN.ca | Canadians move on from loss of pitchers, look ahead to WBC
  12. espn.com transactions (accessed November 22, 2010)
  13. "2013 MLB Trades and Transactions". espn.go.com. January 7, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  14. "Meacham, The Steamer Lead 2015 Field Staff". milb.com. December 19, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  15. Elliott, Bob (July 19, 2015). "Wild and wonderful baseball gold for Canada". torontosun.com. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  16. Hummel, Rick (November 30, 2016). "Clapp named Memphis manager". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  17. "Clapp tabbed Manager of the Year after Memphis' historic Season" (PDF). Pacific Coast League. MiLB.com. August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  18. Giannotto, Mark (September 17, 2017). "Memphis Redbirds win PCL championship over El Paso Chihuahuas". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  19. Memphis Redbirds (November 30, 2017). "Redbirds manager Stubby Clapp named Baseball America Minor League Manager of the Year". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  20. Avallone, Michael. "Redbirds roll to second straight PCL title". MiLB.com. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  21. Heneghan, Kelsie. "Mejia propels Redbirds to Triple-A crown". MiLB.com. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  22. Hill, Drew. "St. Louis Cardinals: Memphis Redbirds' Stubby Clapp named Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year". commercialappeal.com. Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  23. Goold, Derrick. "Jeff Albert will guide Cards' hitters; Stubby Clapp rewarded with move to big-league staff". Stltoday.com.
  24. http://mopupduty.com/index.php/stubby-clapp-era-is-over/
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