Ralph Emanuel Rowe (July 14, 1924 – February 29, 1996) was an American

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

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 activities ...

in minor league baseball, and a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

at the Major League level. A native of Newberry, South Carolina, Rowe threw right-handed, batted left-handed, stood tall and weighed . He was signed at age 17 by 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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

after graduating from Newberry High School in 1942. Rowe's professional career got off to a rousing start in 1942, when he batted .357 for the Thomasville Hi-Toms, a Cleveland affiliate in the Class D

North Carolina State League The North Carolina State League was a "Class D" league in Minor League Baseball. The original version of the league existed from 1913–1917 as the successor to the Carolina Association. The second version of the league was established in 1937 ...

. But he lost the next four full seasons (1943–1946) to military service and, despite batting .360 and leading the 1948 Class B

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second leagu ...

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(123), he spent most of his playing career at the Double-A level. Rowe's career reached its apex with a 14-game trial with the

Los Angeles 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 h ...

of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in 1949. He played in the farm systems of the Indians, Chicago Cubs,

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 ...

and Washington Senators through 1958, then became a manager in the Washington/ Minnesota Twins farm system from 1959 to 1971, winning four league championships. His overall record was 836–757 (.525). At age 47, he reached the Major Leagues as a coach, serving for four seasons with the Twins (1972–1975) as their third base coach, and four more (1981–1984) as the batting coach of 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 ...

. He was a member of the Orioles' staff during their

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

world championship season. Rowe also served as a roving minor league batting coach for the Twins, Orioles, and, after 1984, the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. Rowe moved his family to

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, after he played for the baseball Hornets in 1958. While living in Charlotte, he was a

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

for the Hornets in 1961, and managed the 1969 Hornets to the Double-A Southern League championship. After returning to his home town of Newberry in 1974, he lived there until his death in 1996 at age 71.

External links

Retrosheet

Baseball Reference

References

* Howe News Bureau, ''1985 Montreal Expos Organization Book.'' St. Petersburg, Florida: The Baseball Library, 1985. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Ralph 1924 births 1996 deaths Baltimore Orioles coaches Baseball players from South Carolina Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Fort Walton Beach Jets players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Macon Peaches players Memphis Chickasaws players Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Minnesota Twins coaches Minor league baseball managers Missoula Timberjacks players Mobile Bears players Newberry College alumni People from Newberry, South Carolina Portland Beavers managers Rock Hill Chiefs players Springfield Cubs players Thomasville Hi-Toms players