Melvin, Bob

Robert Paul Melvin

Melvin, who has a Jewish mother, was a catcher who played for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles, among others, between 1985-1994. A career .233 hitter, Bob had 35 career home runs and 212 RBIs. He managed the Seattle Mariners in the 2003-04 season and had a cumulative managerial record of 156-168.

In November, Melvin was hired to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks. A Phoenix resident, Bob had been a bench coach in Arizona when they won the 2001 World Series. He was ecstatic to return. "It is my dream job...to be in a place where I'm home, have had success and feel comfortable, it really doesn't get much better than that." Arizona has overhauled its roster, and in January 2005, the team acquired Jewish star Shawn Green.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. Oct. 28, 1961

Career Highlights:
Born in California, Melvin was a three-sport star in high school (baseball, basketball, and golf) and after one year of varsity baseball at the University of California-Berkeley, he turned pro. Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the first round of the 1981 amateur draft (he was the second overall pick in the secondary phase in January), Melvin played in the minors until his big-league debut on May 25, 1985. Often as a backup for Lance Parrish, he played 41 games with a .221 batting average in 163 at bats. Detroit finished third in the American League East with and 84-77 record.

At the end of the 1985 season, Detroit traded Melvin along with Juan Berenguer to the San Francisco Giants for Dave LaPoint, Eric King and Matt Nokes with Scott Medvin as the Giant player to be named later. The catcher hit .224 with five home runs with 25 RBIs in 268 at bats in 1986. The Giants placed third in the National League West with 83-79 on the year. The following year, Melvin had the worst batting avergeof his career, but increased his power (he hit .199 Bob with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs). The Giants won the division title on their 90-72 performance. Melvin enjoyed a strong offensive NLCS as he hit .429 in seven at bats but the Giants went down in the seventh game of a thrilling match up with St. Louis (One of his teammates on the Giants was pitcher Mike LaCoss).

In 1988, Melvin became the Giants' starting catcher as he appeared in 92 games. batted .234 and added eight homers and 27 RBIs. San Francisco finished in third place in the division (83-79). The following season, he was traded to Baltimore, where he hit for his highest average yet, at .241 and drove across 32 runs with a solitary homer in 278 at bats. Baltimore finished second in the American League East (87-75), two games behind Toronto. His second season in Baltimore proved a career year as Melvin started 93 games, the most in his career. He also hit .243, with five home runs and a career high 37 RBIs. He was used occasionally as a DH during the season. Despite Bob's contribution, Baltimore suffered through a losing 1990 campaign (76-85).

During the 1991 season, Melvin caught 72 games and appeared as a designated hitter in four more. He batted .250 with 23 RBI's and one home run. Baltimore underwent a miserable 67-95 season in 1991 and decided to rebuild their roster. Melvin went to the Kansas City Royals for Storm Davis in the off-season. Unfortunately, Bob was used only sparingly by the Royals. He hit .314 in only 32 appearances for the struggling team (72-90). During October, 1992, Melvin was granted free agency. Within two months, the Californian was snapped up by the Red Sox. Melvin caught 76 games for the Sox while hitting .222, driving in 22 RBI's and hitting 3 dingers in 1993. Boston finished fifth in the American League East with a 80-82 record.

Bob was released in April 1994 and signed by the Yankees that same month. The former starting catcher was now converted into a utility player. Melvin picked up games wherever he could, playing first base, catcher and DH for a total of nine games in New York. He hit .286 in 14 at bats. The Yankees captured the divisional title (70-43), in the strike shortened season. By the end of the season, Bob was on the roster of the Anaheim Angels and the Chicago White Sox as well. In Chicago, he hit .212, and retired after the season.

In 1999, Melvin was hired as bench coach for the Milwaukee Brewers before filling the same role in Detroit during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Bob was a bench coach in Arizona when they won the 2001 World Series and remained there in 2002. In late 2002 Melvin replaced Lou Piniella as the Mariners manager. Those were incredibly big shoes to fill as Piniella had overseen the golden age of Seattle and led them to 840 wins.

Seattle enjoyed another very solid season in 2003. "You've got to run this team the way they're able to do things," Melvin said. "For me to come into a winning situation and say I've got to put my stamp on it, I don't think that's the right thing to do." Aided by excellent seasons from veteran southpaw Jamie Moyer and second baseman Bret Boone, the Mariners won 93 games but finished two games out in the wild card race.

Everything went spectacularly wrong for the Mariners in 2004. Seattle lost 99 games, in its worst season since the pre-Piniella era. In October, 2004, the Mariners fired Melvin from the team. General manager Bill Bavasi commented that "The decision not to bring back Bob as Mariners' manager was a difficult one. The players played hard through the final day of the season. Bob and his coaches worked hard to win while trying to develop young players during this season of transition. Obviously, this season's results were disappointing. But this decision is not meant to place blame completely on Bob."

Career Dates:
Melvin played in the majors for the Detroit Tigers, 1985; the San Francisco Giants, 1986-1988; the Baltimore Orioles, 1989-1991; the Kansas City Royals, 1992; the Boston Red Sox, 1993, and the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox in 1994. He then became a coach and was the bench coach for Milwaukee, Detroit, and Arizona, 1999-2002. He was the head coach of the Seattle Mariners, 2003-04, and the Arizona Diamondbacks, 2005-present.

Position:
Catcher

Physical description:
6"4

205 lbs.

Career Statistics:
Games: 692
Batting Avg.: .233
Slugging Avg.: .337

At-bats: 1995
Hits: 456
Doubles: 85
Triples: 6

Home Runs: 35
Runs: 174
RBI: 212

BB: 98
Strike Outs: 396
Stolen Bases: 4

Fielding Statistics
Put-outs: 2961
Assists: 253
Errors: 24
Double-plays: 43

Fielding Avg: .993

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