Anthony Joseph Muser (; born August 1, 1947) is currently a roving instructor in the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

organization. He is a former Major League Baseball player, and later served in several coaching positions. From 1997 until 2002, Muser served as the manager of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. After being replaced by

John Mizerock John Joseph Mizerock (; born December 8, 1960) is an American former Major League Baseball backup catcher for the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves. He was the eighth overall pick in the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft. He later served as a ...

, Muser spent four seasons as the bench coach for the San Diego Padres under

Bruce Bochy Bruce Douglas Bochy (; born April 16, 1955), nicknamed "Boch" and "Headly", is an American professional baseball manager and former catcher who is the current manager of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the San Dieg ...

Playing career

Signed as an amateur free agent by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in 1967, Muser spent parts of nine seasons in the majors between 1969 and 1978. After debuting with the Red Sox, he also played for the

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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

. In , he was the White Sox starting first baseman, setting career highs with 4 home runs and 30 runs batted in while batting .285 in 109 games. After batting .260 during the first months of the campaign, Muser was acquired by the Orioles from the White Sox for

Jesse Jefferson Jesse Harrison Jefferson (March 3, 1949 – September 8, 2011) was an American professional baseball pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles (1973-1975), Chicago White Sox (1975-1976), Toronto Blue Jays (1977-1980), Pittsburgh Pirates (1980) and Califo ...

in one of two transactions made by Chicago at the non-waiver trade deadline on June 15, . Following his major league career, he played in Japan for the

Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, w ...

in 1979. During his career, Muser played mostly first base, but did not hit for much in the way of average or power at a position that is historically more known for offense than defense. He had a lifetime .259 batting average and only seven home runs in his entire career.

Post-playing career

Coach and minor league manager

In , Muser was brought back into the Brewers organization, as he was hired as manager of the

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at ...

, one of Milwaukee's A-ball farm clubs. The Ports won the league championship in 1980, and Muser was moved up to the Double-A

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, wh ...

. After two-plus seasons in El Paso, during which Muser's teams went 176–162, Muser was promoted again, this time to the Triple-A

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadiu ...

, where he replaced Dick Phillips in midseason. After a season and a half there, Muser was moved up to the Brewers' coaching staff, where he served as third base coach from through spring training in when he was severely injured in a gas explosion in the

Compadre Stadium Compadre Stadium was a stadium located in Chandler, Arizona. It was the spring training home of the Milwaukee Brewers from 1986 to 1997 and the home field of the Chandler Diamondbacks of the Arizona Fall League from 1992 to 1994. The ballpark wa ...

clubhouse and missed the rest of the 1986 season. Muser was in line to succeed George Bamberger as manager but because of his injuries was replaced as third base coach by Tom Trebelhorn who went on to manage the Brewers for five years. Muser returned as hitting coach from until .Bio from Padres web site
/ref> In and , Muser was back at Triple-A, managing the

Denver Zephyrs The Denver Zephyrs (formerly the Denver Bears) were a Minor League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They were a Triple-A team that played in the American Association from 1955 to 1962, the Pacific Coast League from 1963 ...

, the Brewers' top farm team. In , Muser moved to the

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 ...

, where he served as their hitting coach until , when he was named manager of the

Royals manager

On July 9, 1997, Muser replaced

Bob Boone Robert Raymond Boone (born November 19, 1947) is an American former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who was a four-time All-Star. Born in San Diego, California, he is the son of MLB player Ray Boone, and he is the father o ...

as manager of the Kansas City Royals. The Royals were 36–46 at the time, but finished the season even worse, going 31–48 under Muser, finishing 4th in the

American League Central The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are all lo ...

. Starting in , the Royals would finish 3rd, 4th, 4th, and 5th in the five-team division. After starting the season 8–15, Muser was fired as manager and replaced by

Back to coaching

After being let go by the Royals, Muser was named to the

coaching staff for . He served as the Padres' bench coach until , then returned to the minor leagues as a manager. In , Muser was the manager for the Peoria Padres, the Padres' rookie level team in the

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it ...

. In 2008, he became a roving minor league instructor for the Padres.

Managerial records

References

External links

Pura Pelota
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Muser, Tony 1947 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from California Boston Red Sox players Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago White Sox players Florida Instructional League Red Sox players Greenville Red Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Royals managers Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches Milwaukee Brewers players Minor league baseball managers People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles San Diego Mesa College alumni San Diego Padres coaches Seibu Lions players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Toros players Waterloo Hawks (baseball) players Winston-Salem Red Sox players