Donald Paul Werner (born March 8, 1953) is an American 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 Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

. He played during seven seasons at the major league level, playing for the

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 ...

and Texas Rangers. In 1978, the Reds starting catcher,

Johnny Bench Johnny Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from to , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of the ...

, sat out 20 plus games with an injury which gave Don a starting role. On June 16 of the same year he caught the only no-hitter of Hall of Famer

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cin ...

's career. He was drafted by the Reds in the 5th round of the amateur draft after graduating from Appleton East High School. Werner played his first professional season with their Rookie League Gulf Coast Reds in 1971, and his last with Texas' Triple-A club, the

Oklahoma RedHawks Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

in .

Coaching

Since retiring as a player, he has been a minor league manager and coach. Werner was 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

chain for seven seasons. He joined the

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 ...

organization as coach of the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

in 2003–2004. He was the skipper of the

Bowie Baysox The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, th ...

in 2005–2006. After the 2006 season he was named minor league catching instructor for the Orioles. On June 20, 2011, he was named bullpen coach for the Baltimore Orioles, replacing Rick Adair, who had been promoted to interim pitching coach following the resignation of then pitching coach Mark Connor. Werner then resumed his former post of minor league catching instructor for Baltimore in 2012.

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Don 1953 births Living people Birmingham Barons players Cincinnati Reds players Denver Bears players Gulf Coast Reds players Idaho Falls Braves players Indianapolis Indians players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball catchers Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers Nashville Sounds players Oklahoma City 89ers players Richmond Braves players San Diego Padres scouts Baseball players from Appleton, Wisconsin Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Texas Rangers players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Trois-Rivières Aigles players Wichita Aeros players Appleton East High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen