Anthony Wayne Beasley (born December 5, 1966) is an American professional baseball coach. He is the third base coach for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB).[1] He previously served as an interim manager for the Texas Rangers and third base coach and minor-league manager in the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals organizations.

Tony Beasley
Tony Beasley
Tony Beasley on August 4, 2016
Texas Rangers – No. 27
Third base coach
Born: (1966-12-05) December 5, 1966 (age 57)
Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB statistics
Managerial record17–31
Winning %.354
Teams
As manager
As coach
Career highlights and awards
As coach

Professional career

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Primarily a middle infielder, Beasley spent nine seasons as a player in the minor leagues and batted .260 with 22 homers and 242 RBI in 854 games.[2] He was originally selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 19th round of the 1989 June draft,[3] before being acquired by Pittsburgh in a deal for infielder Tommy Shields in September 1991.[4] In his minor league career, Beasley was named to the Carolina League All-Star team in both 1990 and 1991. He also garnered Southern League All-Star laurels in 1996.[5]

Managerial and coaching career

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Beasley began his managerial career with the Williamsport Crosscutters in 2001 and led the club to a 46-26 regular season record and a first-place finish;[6] the club was declared co-champions of the New York–Penn League along with Brooklyn.[7] He was named Low Class-A Manager of-the-Year by Baseball America in consecutive seasons with the Hickory Crawdads in 2002-03 and to the South Atlantic League's mid-season All-Star squad in 2003. Beasley guided the Crawdads to the SAL championship and the fifth-best record in the minors in 2002 and was also selected to the leagues post-season All-Star Team.

Beasley has spent four seasons as a coach at the Major League level. In 2006, he worked as the third-base coach for the Nationals under manager Frank Robinson. He then returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization, where he had spent nearly all of his career to that point, spending the 2007 season as the Pirates' Minor League Infield Coordinator, a role in which he was instrumental in prospect Neil Walker's transition from catcher to third base during spring training. The following year Beasley returned to major-league coaching as the third-base coach on manager John Russell's staff, and he continued in that role until the end of the 2010 season. In total, Beasley spent 18 years with the Pittsburgh organization.

Beasley spent five seasons as a manager in the Pirates' farm system, guiding his club to the post-season in all five years and a combined record of 372-258 (.590 winning pct.) during the regular season. He was tabbed by Baseball America as the Double-A Manager-of-the-Year in 2004 after guiding Altoona to the Eastern League championship series (his team lost to New Hampshire). Beasley also served the United States National Team as a coach at the MLB Futures Game in Houston during All-Star week in 2004.

In 2011, Beasley returned to the Nationals as manager of the Double-A Harrisburg Senators; then, in 20122013, he skippered Washington's top affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs of the Triple-A International League. The following year, in 2014, Beasley was the co-field-coordinator of instruction in the Washington Nationals' minor-league system.[8]

In addition to his regular season managerial duties, Beasley also managed the Mesa Desert Dogs during the Arizona Fall League in 2004, guiding the club to an 18-13 record and a first-place finish in the National Division (his club lost out to the Mesa Solar Sox in the Championship Series). After serving as a player/coach for the AA Carolina Mudcats and the Class A Lynchburg Hillcats in 1998, Beasley began his full-time coaching career as the Hitting Coach with the GCL Pirates in 1999. He worked in the same capacity with Lynchburg in 2000.

Personal life

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Beasley is a Christian. He is married to Stacy Beasley. They have one son.[9]

On February 19, 2016, Beasley was diagnosed with rectal cancer,[10] forcing him to miss the start of the 2016 season. He was declared cancer-free in December 2, 2016 and returned to his position as third base coach in 2017.[11] In 2021, five years later, he still continued to show no signs of cancer.[12]

Teams

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As third base coach
As interim manager

On Wednesday, July 30, 2008 before the game against the Colorado Rockies, Tony Beasley performed the national anthem at the Pirates' home stadium, PNC Park.[13]

Managerial record

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
Games Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
TEX 2022 48 17 31 .354 4th in AL West
Total 48 17 31 .354 0 0

References

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  1. ^ Beck, Bill (August 17, 2015). "Strausborger held back a smile after Texas Rangers rookie hits first MLB home run". The Elkhart Truth. Truth Publishing Company. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  2. ^ "Tony Beasley Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  3. ^ "19th Round of the 1989 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  4. ^ "Tommy Shields Transactions". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "Tony Beasley - Pirates Manager and Coaches". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011.
  6. ^ "2001 Williamsport Crosscutters Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  7. ^ "Minor League - 2001 League Champions". The Modesto Bee. October 4, 2001. p. 17. Retrieved September 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Hughes, Chase (December 20, 2013). "Nationals fill out 2014 minor league staff". Nats Insider. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013.
  9. ^ Rosenthal, Ken (February 28, 2017). "Rangers draw love, inspiration from coach Tony Beasley's health battle". Fox Sports. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  10. ^ "Texas Rangers 3rd base coach Tony Beasley has rectal cancer". AP News. February 20, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  11. ^ Sullivan, T.R. (January 20, 2017). "Cancer-free, Beasley back in action for Rangers". MLB.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  12. ^ Wendler, Ronda (February 22, 2021). "Baseball coach shows no signs of rectal cancer five years after treatment". MD Anderson Cancer Center. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  13. ^ "Cook wins 14th, Iannetta homers in Rockies' win". USATODAY.com. Associated Press. July 30, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Williamsport Crosscutters manager
2001
Succeeded by
Preceded by Hickory Crawdads manager
2002–2003
Succeeded by
Preceded by Altoona Curve manager
2004–2005
Succeeded by
Preceded by Washington Nationals third base coach
2006
Succeeded by
Preceded by Pittsburgh Pirates third base coach
2008–2010
Succeeded by
Preceded by Harrisburg Senators manager
2011
Succeeded by
Preceded by Syracuse Chiefs manager
2012–2013
Succeeded by
Preceded by Texas Rangers third base coach
2015–2022
Succeeded by
Preceded by Texas Rangers manager
2022–present
Succeeded by
Incumbent
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