Donald Thomas Long (born March 17, 1962) is an American

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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 * Coac ...

. Long has spent 11 seasons as a Major League Baseball (MLB) hitting coach, serving in the role for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

(2008–2010),

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

(2014–2018), and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

(2019-2021).

Career

A former switch-hitting infielder, Long was originally selected 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 ...

in the third round of the 1983 MLB draft. He played three years in the Giants farm system (1983–85) where he compiled a .251 batting average, 12 home runs and 76 RBI in 198 games. Before becoming a manager in the minor leagues, Long served as the head coach at

Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...

in 1986. Long is a 1980 graduate of Meadowdale High School in

Lynnwood, Washington Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, Washington, Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 in Washington, ...

. He attended

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

and earned All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

honors as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

in 1983. Long spent 12 years as a manager in the California/Anaheim Angels minor league system before joining Philadelphia. He made his managerial debut with the

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, on ...

in the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

in 1987 before spending two seasons with the Bend Bucks. Don returned to Quad City and was named Midwest League Manager-of-the-Year after leading his squad to the 1990 league title. A year later he captured Manager-of-the-Year accolades again after guiding the

Midland Angels Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Nag ...

to a 37–30 second-half record and into the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

playoffs. After two more seasons with Midland (1992–93), Long managed in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

for three years, leading the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bail ...

to a pair of first-place finishes. He advanced to the league championship in 1994 and was named the league's Manager-of-the-Year in 1995 after guiding the club to an 81-60 regular-season record and an appearance in the post season. In his 12 seasons as a minor league skipper, Long produced a 745–788 record. Long worked eight years as the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

hitting coordinator with 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 ...

. He spent the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

season as the Phillies roving hitting instructor. On January 14, 2019, Long was hired by the

to be the team's new hitting coach on

Brandon Hyde Brandon Michael Hyde (born October 3, 1973) is an American professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager who most recently managed the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hyde had previously served as the bench coach, director o ...

's staff, replacing Scott Coolbaugh.Trezza, Joe (23 January 2019), "O's Announce Major League Staff." MLB.com
/ref> After two years as the hitting coach for Baltimore, on October 4, 2021, the team announced that Long would not be returning for the 2022 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Don 1962 births Living people Baltimore Orioles coaches Baseball coaches from Washington (state) Baseball players from Washington (state) Cincinnati Reds coaches Fresno Giants players Great Falls Giants players Major League Baseball hitting coaches People from Bremerton, Washington Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Seattle Redhawks baseball coaches Shreveport Captains players Washington State Cougars baseball players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players 20th-century American sportsmen