Philip Ramond Regan (born April 6, 1937) 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 professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

, and

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 activitie ...

, who played in

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 (A ...

(MLB) for 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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

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) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

, and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

; he also managed the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. Regan served as the

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

for part of the 2019 season. During the 1966 season, when Regan was Walter Alston's favorite pitcher from the Dodger

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

, teammate

Sandy Koufax Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...

nicknamed Regan "The Vulture", due to his knack for earning wins in late-inning relief situations.

Early years

Regan earned varsity letters in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

at Wayland High School in

Wayland, Michigan Wayland is a city in Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,079 at the 2010 census. The city is located at the northwest corner of Wayland Township, but is politically independent. The city has also incorporated a p ...

. After one year at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

, he signed with the

in 1956. He compiled a 61-42 record and 3.76

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

in the Tigers'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

before earning a call up to the majors midway through the 1960 season.

Detroit Tigers

He made his major league debut on July 19 against the Washington Senators. Entering the game already behind 3-0, he allowed just two

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

in five

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s of work, including a

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 ...

Harmon Killebrew Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. (; June 29, 1936May 17, 2011), nicknamed "The Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He was a prolific power hitter who spent most of hi ...

. He made his first career start in the second game of a doubleheader with the

on July 23. He left the game with two outs in the ninth inning with the score tied at three, and the bases loaded.

Relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

Clem Labine Clement Walter Labine (August 6, 1926 – March 2, 2007) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) best known for his years with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1960. As a key member of the Dodge ...

walked

Jim Gentile James Edward Gentile (born June 3, 1934), also nicknamed "Diamond Jim", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas Cit ...

to drive in the winning

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

, and hand Regan his first career loss. Splitting his time between starts and relief appearances, he was 0-4 with a 4.50 ERA his rookie season. His first career win also came against Baltimore during his second season in the big leagues, when he went 10-7 with a 5.25 ERA. Over six seasons, Regan went 42-44 with a 4.50 ERA for the Detroit Tigers. He was 0-4 with a 4.99 ERA in 1965 when he was demoted to triple A

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

. He earned a call up that September, and made two appearances, but it was while he was with Syracuse that Regan learned of interest in him from the Dodgers organization.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Regan called Tigers

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Jim Campbell asking to be traded, and on December 15, 1965, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Dick Tracewski. With Sandy Koufax,

Don Drysdale Donald Scott Drysdale (July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. A right-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire career in Major League Baseball, D ...

Claude Osteen Claude Wilson Osteen (born August 9, 1939), nicknamed "Gomer" because of his resemblance to television character Gomer Pyle, is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cinc ...

, and

Don Sutton Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 19, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 23 seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakla ...

in the starting rotation, Regan was used strictly as a reliever in 1966. He responded by going 14-1 with a 1.62 ERA, 88 strikeouts in 116

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

and a

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

leading 21 saves to help the Dodgers capture the NL pennant by a game and a half over the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

. It was on August 1 of that year, by Regan's own account, that he first acquired the "Vulture" moniker from Koufax, the latter having just exited his second consecutive game, tied 1-1, only to see Regan "swoop in" for the last-minute win. The ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' named him the NL Reliever of the Year and

NL Comeback Player of the Year The Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award is presented by Major League Baseball (MLB) to the player who is judged to have "re-emerged on the baseball field during a given season." The award was developed in 2005, as part of a s ...

in 1966. He also earned the only All-Star nod in his career, but did not appear in the game. He appeared in two games of the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

, allowing just one base runner via a walk, and retiring the other five he faced. Regan won his first two decisions in 1967 to give him 15 consecutive wins before finally losing to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

on May 15. He won both games of a doubleheader with the New York Mets on April 21, 1968. Two days later, he was traded with Jim Hickman to the

for Jim Ellis and

Ted Savage TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...

Chicago Cubs

Regan provided similar heroics for his new team. In his first two appearances as a Cub, he saved both games of an April 28 doubleheader with the Houston Astros. Despite missing the first 14 games of the Cubs' schedule, Regan led all of Major League Baseball with 25 saves in 1968 on his way to capturing a second ''Sporting News'' Reliever of the Year Award. He was involved in a bizarre incident on August 18, 1968, against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. Regan apparently had good stuff that day, too good for home plate

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per' ...

Chris Pelekoudas. Despite no illegal substances being found on the ball, Pelekoudas called 14 illegal pitches on Regan based simply on the movement of the ball. Regan met with NL President Warren Giles August 20, and was absolved of any wrongdoing. The incident earned Regan a reputation that followed him the rest of his career.

Retirement

During the twilight of his career, Regan found his workload diminishing rapidly. Through May 1972, Regan had pitched just four innings for the Cubs. He asked to be traded or released, and on June 2, Regan's contract was sold to the crosstown

. He appeared in ten games for the Chisox, going 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA before his release on July 20.

Career stats

{, class=wikitable style="text-align:center" , W , L , Pct , ERA , G , GS , CG , SHO , SV , IP , H , ER , R , HR , BB , K , BAA , WP , HBP , Fld% , Avg. , - , 96 , 81 , , 3.84 , 551 , 105 , 20 , 1 , 92 , 1372.2 , 1392 , 585 , 649 , 150 , 447 , 743 , .265 , 31 , 26 , .976 , .153

The only

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

of Regan's career came on May 10, 1963 against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

. He also hit his only career home run in the 14-0 drubbing of the Tribe.

Coaching career

Immediately upon retirement, Regan went into coaching. He accepted his first coaching job at

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...

in his home state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

simply because it was close to home. He was head coach from 1973 to 1982, winning the Great Lakes Conference title and the NAIA District 23 Championship twice each. Regan’s work at Grand Valley earned him a call from

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

general manager Dan O'Brien Sr. After spending the 1983 season as the Mariners' minor league pitching instructor and advance scout, Regan was promoted to major league pitching coach in 1984. His tenure in Seattle was interrupted by a two-game suspension in 1985 when he bumped

Derryl Cousins Derryl Cousins (August 18, 1946October 19, 2020) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB), who worked in the American League (AL) from 1979 to 1999, and umpired throughout both leagues from 2000 until his retirement following the 20 ...

during a bench clearing brawl between the M's and

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

on August 12. Regan resigned from his position with the Mariners following the 1986 season. In 1987, he began a six-year stint with the Dodgers as their major league special assignment and advance scout. Regan was up for the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

managerial job, late in 1992, but withdrew his name from consideration. A year later, he joined the Cleveland Indians as pitching coach during the strike-shortened 1994 season. In 1995, Regan received his only major league managerial position, managing the

to a 71-73 record. Due to the

1994–95 Major League Baseball strike The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike was the eighth and longest work stoppage in baseball history, as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage in 22 years. The strike began on August 12, 1994, and resulted in the remainder of that season ...

carrying into the 1995 season, the league played a shortened 144-game schedule that commenced on April 25. The Orioles missed the playoffs, ultimately finishing third in the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

. After just one season at the helm, Regan was fired, and replaced by Davey Johnson. The remainder of his professional coaching career is summarized below: *1987–1989 – Managed

Leones del Escogido Leones del Escogido (English: ''Chosen One Lions'' or ''Lions of Chosen One'' or ''Picked Lions'') is a professional baseball team in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Established in , Leones are the third most successful team in the Dominican Wi ...

to Dominican Championship. Won the Caribbean World Series, in 1988. *1989–2009 – Managed teams in the

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

, including

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes ( Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It w ...

Cardenales de Lara The Cardenales de Lara ( en, Lara Cardinals) is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Founded in 1942 and based in Barquisimeto, the ''Cardenales'' have won six domestic titles, including back-to-back in 1998 and 1999, a ...

, Bravos de Margarita, and

Tiburones de La Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira ( en, La Guaira Sharks) are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, they play their home games in Estadio Fórum La Guaira and have won seven national champions ...

. *1996 – Managed Los Angeles Dodgers Triple-A affiliate

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Frank ...

(finished with a record of 67-76). *1997 – Served as Chicago Cubs pitching coach (1997–1998). *1999 – Served as Cleveland Indians pitching coach. *2000 – Served as Team USA pitching coach at

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. *2002 – Served as

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpar ...

manager (2002–2003). *2009–2015 – St. Lucie Mets pitching coach. *2016–2019 – New York Mets minor league assistant pitching coordinator. *2019 – Promoted to New York Mets interim pitching coach on June 20 after Dave Eiland was fired. Retired following the season. *2019–2020 –

Toros del Este The Los Toros del Este (formerly Azucareros del Este) are a baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several pl ...

pitching coach (won Dominican Championship).

Managerial record

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;" , - ! rowspan="2", Team !! rowspan="2", Year !! colspan="5", Regular season !! colspan="4", Postseason , - !Games!!Won!!Lost!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result , - , - !

BAL Bal may refer to: * Bal (surname), a Dutch, Indian, and Turkish surname * Bal, Iran (disambiguation) * Bal, Zira, a village in Punjab, India * ''Bal'' (film), a 2010 Turkish film * Bäl, a settlement on the Swedish island of Gotland * 8678 B ...

, , , , 144, , 71, , 73, , , , 3rd in AL East , , – , , – , , – , , – , - ! colspan="2", Total , , 144 , , 71 , , 73 , , , , , , 0 , , 0 , , – , ,

References

External links

Phil Regan
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) : {{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Phil 1937 births Living people Baseball players from Michigan Caribbean Series managers Major League Baseball pitchers Detroit Tigers players Los Angeles Dodgers players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players National League All-Stars Baltimore Orioles managers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minor league baseball managers Jamestown Falcons players Durham Bulls players Birmingham Barons players Charleston Senators players Denver Bears players Syracuse Chiefs players Cleveland Indians coaches Chicago Cubs coaches Seattle Mariners coaches New York Mets coaches Los Angeles Dodgers scouts People from Otsego, Michigan American expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua American expatriate baseball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate baseball people in Venezuela

Early years

Detroit Tigers

Los Angeles Dodgers

Chicago Cubs

Retirement

Career stats

Coaching career

Managerial record

See also

References

Further reading

External links