Craig Charles Colbert (born February 13, 1965) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

catcher and former

bench 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 decision ...

for 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. A 1983 graduate out of

Manhattan High School Manhattan High School is a public high school in Manhattan, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9–12. It is part of the Manhattan–Ogden USD 383 school district. For the 2013–2014 school year, Manhattan High had an enrollment o ...

, Colbert was selected in the 20th round of the

1986 Major League Baseball draft The 1986 Major League Baseball draft was the 22nd MLB draft that took place in 1986. During this draft 21 future all-stars were drafted: Greg Swindell, Matt Williams, Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, Roberto Hernández, Jack Armstrong, Dean Pal ...

by the

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

. He played in their farm system until making his debut at the beginning of the season, and played in 72 games over two seasons, being released after the season. Colbert played several more seasons in the minor leagues, first for 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 , the team ...

, then for the

. In , Colbert became a player-coach for the Las Vegas Stars, ending his playing career after that season. From through , Colbert worked his way up the Padres' chain, managing at four different levels of the minor leagues. In , he was named the Padres' bench coach, a position from which he was let go on September 29, following a 99 loss season. It seems that he and hitting coach Wally Joyner were the scapegoats for the disappointing season. Though upper management's inability to put proven talent on the field, the team's bottom ranking in MLB at scoring runs, next to last ranking in team batting average, injuries to

Jake Peavy Jacob Edward Peavy (born May 31, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who is currently an on-air analyst for MLB Network. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, ...

and Chris Young, and their paltry 36

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s for the whole season (a total that 11 players in the AL and NL surpassed on their own) heavily contributed to their lackluster season. He is currently a scout for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

References

Sources

Baseball ReferenceBaseball Reference (Minors)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colbert, Craig 1965 births Living people Baseball players from Iowa Charlotte Knights players Clinton Giants players Fresno Giants players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball catchers Oral Roberts Golden Eagles baseball players Oral Roberts University alumni Sportspeople from Iowa City, Iowa Philadelphia Phillies scouts Phoenix Firebirds players Portland Beavers managers San Diego Padres coaches San Diego Padres managers San Francisco Giants players 20th-century American sportsmen