John Steven Mabry (born October 17, 1970) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player, broadcaster, and coach. He is a coach for the Kansas City Royals of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He had 898 career hits in 3,409 at-bats (for a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .263), with 96

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 446 RBI. He is tall, weighs , bats left-handed and throws right-handed. John Mabry attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania and was inducted into their Athletics Hall of Fame.

Early life

Mabry, a graduate of

Bohemia Manor High School Bohemia Manor High School is a public school operated by Cecil County Public Schools located approximately south of the small town of Chesapeake City in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. This is a small school of 685 students which sha ...

, in

Chesapeake City, Maryland Chesapeake City is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 736 at the 2020 census. The town was originally named by Bohemian colonist Augustine Herman the Village of Bohemia — or Bohemia Manor — but the name was ...

, played three years at

West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

, before being drafted by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

in the 6th round of the amateur draft.

Playing career

During his 14-year MLB career Mabry played for eight teams, including three different stints with the Cardinals (–, , –). In Mabry's only season with over 400 at-bats, he led the Cardinals with 161 hits and was fourth in the National League for first basemen in fielding percentage at .994 and was errorless in 14 games in the outfield. He hit for a natural cycle in a May 18, , loss to the Colorado Rockies. Mabry was one of the few major leaguers who preferred not to wear batting gloves. He was also somewhat versatile on defense, playing more than 100 games at left and right field as well as first and third base. He also made two career appearances pitching with dubious results. In one inning of work, he gave up seven

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

for a career

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of 63.

Post-playing career

In April 2011,

Fox Sports Midwest Bally Sports Midwest is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional ...

hired Mabry to serve as baseball analyst during St. Louis Cardinals live pre-game and post-game shows, a role he shared with former Cardinals

Mike Matheny Michael Scott Matheny (born September 22, 1970) is an American former professional baseball player and former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for 13 seasons as a catcher ...

and

Cal Eldred Calvin John Eldred (born November 24, 1967) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to . He previously worked for the St. Louis Cardinals as a special assistant to general ...

. On December 2, 2011, the Cardinals named Mabry the assistant hitting coach to

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, soon after announcing former teammate

would be the new

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. On November 5, 2012, the Cardinals promoted Mabry to hitting coach following McGwire's departure to 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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. Former major league catcher Bengie Molina succeeded Mabry as the assistant hitting coach. Mabry was released from his position as hitting coach with the

when manager

was fired on July 14, 2018, just days before the All-Star break of the 2018 season. On December 5, 2019, Mabry was added to the Kansas City Royals staff as a major league coach.

Personal life

After his 2007 retirement as a player, Mabry continued to make his home in the

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

area along with his wife Ann and their four children. Long an avid outdoorsman, Mabry became a spokesman for

Gander Mountain Gander Mountain, later known as Gander Outdoors and Gander RV, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, was a retail network of stores for hunting, fishing, camping, and other outdoor recreation products and services. History Gander Mountain Inc ...

, making a series of videos on different aspects of hunting and fishing.

References

External links