Welcome to the Baseball History Podcast: Featuring This Week in Baseball History, baseball dictionary and a tour of baseball cities. I’m your game announcer Bob Wright.
This is game 45 of the 2010 baseball season
In the first inning let’s take a look at This Week in Baseball History for the 2 week of November.
November 9
1983 University of Alabama’s first baseman Dave Magadan wins the Golden Spike Award as the United States top amateur player. The Tampa, Florida native hit .535 in NCAA play.
David Joseph Magadan was born September 30, 1962 in Tampa, Florida.
Magadan, a lefthanded line-drive hitter, was the offensive hero of the Mets’ division-clinching game in 1986 during a late-season call-up.
After high school, Magadan attended the University of Alabama, where, in 1983, his .525 batting average led the entire National Collegiate Athletic Association. He won the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur baseball player. He was then selected by the New York Mets in the Major League Baseball Draft.
He batted .336 with three home runs in his first minor league season but did not hit any home runs his next two seasons, and really didn’t display much power as a prospect. However, he consistently hit for a high batting average and displayed excellent plate discipline, with a low strikeout rate and twice as many walks as strikeouts
He made his major league debut in 1986 as a September call up and hit a double in his first major league at-bat. He won the hearts of Mets fans in his first major league start on September 17, by hitting three singles, and reaching on an error in his four at-bats, and collecting two Runs Batted In in the Mets’ National League Eastern division clincher. For the season, Magadan went eight for eighteen for a .444 batting average.
Blocked at third base by Howard Johnson and at first by Keith Hernandez, Magadan still found his way into the lineup on a semi-regular basis in 1987 and 1988. He provided a quality bat in late-inning situations and a capable spot starter whenever a regular needed a day off. Manager Davey Johnson even went so far as to move Johnson to shortstop for 30 games a year, just to get Magadan more playing time.
Magadan became the Mets’ regular first baseman in 1989 when injuries limited Hernandez to 75 games. Contrary to early reports of a mediocre glove, Magadan proved himself to be adequate at first, though certainly not in Hernandez’ class.
Hernandez’s contract expired after the season, and rather than awarding the starting first base job to Magadan, the Mets acquired Mike Marshall from the Los Angeles Dodgers to play first in 1990.
Marshall batted only .239 for the Mets, and had lost his starting job to Magadan by the time he was dealt to the Boston Red Sox on July 27.
Magadan batted .328, which ranked third in the league, and his .417 on-base percentage was good for second place.
In 1992, the Mets signed Eddie Murray as a free agent, shifted Johnson to centerfield and moved Magadan across the diamond to third. Following the season, he signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins.
Magadan was in the starting line-up for the Marlins for their inaugural season opener victory over the Dodgers.
On June 27, 1993, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners and after the season, he was traded back to the Marlins. Magadan batted .275 backing up third and first for the Marlins in 1994. At the end of the season, he signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.
Houston Astros
Magadan found himself once again with a starting job in Houston, batting .313 as their regular third baseman. Still, the Astros chose not to resign Magadan at the end of the 1995 season.
Oakland A’s
Magadan signed with the Chicago Cubs in 1996. Injuries and a gold glove first baseman (Mark Grace) limited him to pinch hitting duties, and he batted only .254 used sparingly by manager Jim Riggleman.
He signed a one year deal with the Oakland Athletics at the end of the season, and made 328 plate appearances in 1997, splitting his time fairly evenly between first, third and designated hitter. He batted .303 with four home runs, and resigned with the A’s at the end of the season. While Magadan received far less playing time in 1998, he still emerged with a .321 batting average.
He signed with the San Diego Padres in 1999 to back up first and third base. He played for them through 2001.
After his retirement as a player, Magadan was hired by the Padres as their minor league hitting instructor in 2002, and served as their major league batting coach from 2003 to 2006.
On June 15, 2006, with the Padres batting .252 as a team (last in the National League), Magadan was fired by Padres GM Kevin Towers and replaced by former Padres hitting coach Merv Rettenmund. Their .322 in on base percentage and .391 slugging percentage was second to last to the Chicago Cubs.[5]
In October 2006, Magadan was named hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox. In his first season on the job, Magadan’s Red Sox would go on to see great improvements in batting average, slugging percentage and on base percentage. In 2007, Boston went on to sweep the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series. The Red Sox batted .333 in the World Series.
As of the posting of this podcast, Dave Magadan still serves as hitting coach for the Red Sox.
In this inning we’ll open up the Baseball Dictionary
Under the letter: A
Allow
1. To give up hits and/or runs; e.g., “Smith allowed five hits and three runs in the fifth.”
2. To make an error; e.g., “Jones allowed the hot grounder to go between his legs.”
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Well, that’s it for today’s game of Baseball History Podcast. I’ll see you later at the ballpark.
