James Michael Slaton (born June 19, 1950) is an American former pitcher with a 16-year career from 1971-1986. He played in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

from 1971–1977 and 1979–1983, the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in 1978 and 1986, and the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

from 1984-1986.

Biography

Slaton played high school baseball at

Antelope Valley High School Antelope Valley High School is located in Lancaster, California, and is part of the Antelope Valley Union High School District, in northernmost Los Angeles County, California. It was founded in 1912 and had its first graduating class in 1912 ...

and then played college baseball at

Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College (AVC) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in Lancaster, California. It is part of the California Community College system. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Communi ...

. He is the Brewers all-time leader in wins (117), innings pitched (2025.1), games started (268), and shutouts (19), and he is third in strikeouts, trailing Teddy Higuera and Ben Sheets, and second in complete games, trailing Mike Caldwell. Slaton was traded with

Rich Folkers Richard Nevin Folkers (born October 17, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to for the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and M ...

from the Brewers to the Tigers for Ben Oglivie at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 9, 1977.Durso, Joseph. "Yanks Sign Eastwick to 5‐Year Pact," ''The New York Times'', Saturday, December 10, 1977.
Retrieved October 22, 2020 He then re-signed with the Brewers as a free agent the following year. He represented the Brewers and the American League in the 1977 All-Star game and was the winning pitcher for the Brewers in the 4th game of the 1982 World Series against St. Louis. After his playing career ended, he started coaching in the minor leagues. He coached in the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

organization (1992–1994) and then became the pitching coach for the Class A Daytona Cubs (1995–1996),

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League B ...

(1997–98) and the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

(1999–2003). In 2004, he was a special assignment coach for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

and from 2005-2007 he was the Mariners bullpen coach. Before coaching in the minor or major leagues, Jim coached an all-star team for the Monte Vista Little League, while pitching for the Angels. He was the pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s in 2008, also serving briefly as the bullpen coach for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

when Ken Howell temporarily left the team for medical reasons. After the season, the Dodgers announced that Slaton would be the pitching coach in 2009 for their new Triple-A affiliate, the

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

, a position he held through 2010. In 2011, he was named the pitching coach at Camelback Ranch.

References

External links

Jim Slaton
at Baseball Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Slaton, Jim 1950 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic American League All-Stars Antelope Valley High School alumni Antelope Valley Marauders baseball players Arizona Instructional League Pilots players Baseball players from Long Beach, California Billings Mustangs players California Angels players Clinton Pilots players Detroit Tigers players Evansville Triplets players Fort Myers Sun Sox players Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Minor league baseball coaches Seattle Mariners coaches