Tim Laker

Timothy John Laker (born November 27, 1969) is an American professional baseball catcher and coach. He is the hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cleveland Indians from 1992 through 2006.

Tim Laker
Seattle Mariners – No. 21
Catcher
Born: (1969-11-27) November 27, 1969
Encino, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 18, 1992, for the Montreal Expos
Last MLB appearance
June 18, 2006, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Batting average.226
Home runs11
Runs batted in79
Teams
As player
As coach

Early life

Laker was born in Encino, California and graduated from Simi Valley High School in Simi Valley, California.[1] He played college baseball at Oxnard Community College in Oxnard, California.[2]

Professional career

The Montreal Expos selected Laker in the sixth round of the 1988 Major League Baseball draft.[3] During his professional baseball career, Laker played for the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He last played professional baseball with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons in 2006.

Mitchell Report

Laker was named in the Mitchell Report, which detailed anabolic steroid use in MLB, on December 13, 2007. As a current ball club employee, Laker was required to consent to an interview, in which he admitted to purchasing Deca-Durabolin and testosterone from Kirk Radomski from 1995 to 1999. Laker claimed he was introduced to Radomski by teammate David Segui.[4] In March 2008, Laker admitted regretting his decision to take performance-enhancing drugs stating, "I made a poor decision, a mistake, and all I can do is ask for forgiveness and move on."[5]

Family

Laker has two niece Avery and Mary and a nephew

Coaching and managing career

Laker first managed the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the Cleveland Indians' Short-Season A affiliate, in 2007.[6] He led the New York–Penn League side to a 37-37 record. However, after just one season, he was moved to the position of "roving catching instructor" within the Indians organization and replaced by Travis Fryman.[7] Laker cited health concerns related to colitis, as the reason for the change.[5]

In December 2009, Laker was named the manager of the Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx of the Southern League, an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.[8]

Laker became hitting coach for the Chicago White Sox triple-A affiliate the Charlotte Knights for the 2011 season. In 2016, he was the hitting coach for the Akron Rubber Ducks in the Cleveland Indians minor league system.[9]

In December 2016, Laker was named assistant hitting coach of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2017 season.

The Seattle Mariners announced their hiring of Laker as their hitting coach for the 2019 season.

See also

References
  1. "Tim Laker Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  2. https://articles.latimes.com/1994-07-09/sports/sp-13714_1_home-run
  3. "Tim Laker". Baseball-Reference.Com. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  4. "Mitchell Report pp. 159-61" (PDF).
  5. "Laker admits taking steroids, regrets shortsightedness". ESPN. 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2010-04-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Cleveland Indians hire Travis Fryman to manage at Mahoning Valley".
  8. "Mariners announce Minor League coaching staff for 2010 season". Major League Baseball. seattle.mariners.mlb.com. December 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
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