Robert Eugene Dernier (born January 5, 1957), also known as "Bobby", 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 ...
center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...
, 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 (AL) ...
(MLB) for the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...
and
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 ...
, in the 1980s. The fleet-afoot
1984 Gold Glove Award winner was also known as "The Deer", to fans at Chicago's
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago W ...
.
Dernier experimented as a switch hitter during part of the 1983 season with Philadelphia.
Biography
After graduating from high school in
Kansas City, Missouri, Dernier attended
Longview Community College
Metropolitan Community College (MCC) is a public community college system in the U.S. state of Missouri. The system consists of five separate campuses in Kansas City, Independence, and Lee's Summit. The campuses had a total enrollment of 15,770 in ...
, where he played baseball and majored in journalism. He led the minor leagues three times in stolen bases—77 with Peninsula in 1979, 71 with Reading in 1980, and 71 for Oklahoma City in 1981.
Dernier was traded along with
Gary Matthews
Gary Nathaniel Matthews Sr. (born July 5, 1950), nicknamed Sarge, is an American former professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through for the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phill ...
and
Porfi Altamirano
Porfirio Altamirano Ramírez (born May 17, 1952), nicknamed ''"El Guajiro"'' is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball right-handed middle relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1982–83) a ...
from the
Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Ci ...
to the
Cubs for
Bill Campbell and
Mike Diaz
Michael Anthony Diaz (born April 15, 1960) is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of four seasons in Major League Baseball between 1983 and 1988, for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox. He also play ...
on March 27, 1984. He was the leadoff hitter for the Cubs' 1984 N.L. East division championship team. Hall of Fame second baseman
Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Dee Sandberg (born September 18, 1959), nicknamed "Ryno", is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies (1 ...
batted second and the lead-off pair was dubbed "The Daily Double" by Cubs announcer
Harry Caray
Harry Christopher Caray (; March 1, 1914 – February 18, 1998) was an American radio and television sportscaster. During his career he called the play-by-play for five Major League Baseball teams, beginning with 25 years of calling the games ...
. Dernier was a member of the 1983 Phillies team, which won the
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 ...
pennant but lost 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 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...
to 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 ...
, and the 1984 Cubs team which won the NL East but lost in the playoffs to 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 penna ...
. He homered leading off the first inning of Game 1 in the
1984 National League Championship Series
The 1984 National League Championship Series was played between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs from October 2 to 7. San Diego won the series three games to two to advance to the World Series. It was the first postseason series ever for ...
to kick off a 13-0 victory for the Cubs, but they dropped the series, three games to two.
From the mid-1990s through at least 2004, Dernier was an instructor at a baseball training academy in Kansas City.
Dernier was named the Cubs major league first base coach on August 23, 2010,
after serving as the team's minor league outfield and
base-running coordinator since 2007. He remained a Cub coach until the end of the 2012 season.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
In baseball statistics, a stolen base is credited to a baserunner when he successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is throwing the ball to home plate. Under Rule 7.01 of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Official Rules, a runner a ...
References
External links
1957 births
Living people
Major League Baseball center fielders
Major League Baseball first base coaches
Chicago Cubs coaches
Baseball players from Kansas City, Missouri
Chicago Cubs players
Philadelphia Phillies players
Helena Phillies players
Spartanburg Phillies players
Peninsula Pilots players
Reading Phillies players
Oklahoma City 89ers players
Junior college baseball players in the United States
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