Dustin James Wathan (born August 22, 1973) is an American former professional

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 ...

who played for 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

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 ...

(MLB) in , and who is currently the

third base 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

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 is a former

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

, the Triple-A affiliate of the Phillies in the

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

Early life

Wathan was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. He attended

Blue Springs High School Blue Springs is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, United States. Blue Springs is located east of Kansas City. It is the 8th largest city in the Kansas City metropolitan area and 10th largest city in the state of Missouri. As of the 2020 cens ...

Blue Springs, Missouri Blue Springs is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, United States. Blue Springs is located east of Kansas City. It is the 8th largest city in the Kansas City metropolitan area and 10th largest city in the state of Missouri. As of the 2020 cens ...

, and

Cerritos College Cerritos College is a public community college in Norwalk, California. It offers degrees and certificates in 87 areas of study in nine divisions. History The college was founded in 1955. It was named after Rancho Los Cerritos, a local r ...

Norwalk, California Norwalk is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 102,773 at the 2020 census. Founded in the late 19th century, Norwalk was incorporated as a city in 1957. It is located southeast of downtown Los Angeles a ...

. In 1994, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Bro ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

Baseball career

Playing career

Wathan began his minor league playing career in 1994 with the

AZL Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is com ...

. In 2004, Wathan was a member of the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, where he helped contribute to a Governor's Cup Championship with a 3 run double in the clinching game. In , Wathan was a member of the

organization and played for the

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word re ...

and

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal Exp ...

. He was the final out recorded in Lynx history, after grounding out to end the 2007 Lynx season which would go down as their final campaign. Wathan retired at the end of the 2007 season. Wathan played 13 seasons in the minor leagues. In 3,216 at bats, he hit .273/.360/.382 with 58 home runs, 24 stolen bases, and 417 RBIs.Dusty Wathan Minor Leagues Statistics & History , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> He played 831 games at

, 123 games at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, five games at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, and pitched in three games. In 2002, he played in three games in the major leagues at catcher for the

, batting 3-for-5.

Managerial and coaching career

In 2008, Wathan began his managerial career in the Phillies organization with the

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they w ...

of the Low–A

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. He managed the

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

(Single–A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

) in 2009 to win the league championship. From 2010 to 2011, he led the High–A

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. He managed the Double-A

Reading Fightin Phils The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The R ...

of the Eastern League from 2012 to 2016. On July 22, 2016, he became the winningest manager in team history. Before the 2017 season, he was promoted to manage the

in the Triple–A

. On November 10, 2017, Wathan was named the

on new Phillies skipper

Gabe Kapler Gabriel Stefan Kapler (born July 31, 1975), nicknamed "Kap", is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager who serves as the assistant general manager of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kapler was a 57th- ...

's staff. On October 27, 2022, the Phillies signed Wathan to a multi–year contract extension.

Personal life

His father is former Major League Baseball player and manager

John Wathan John David Wathan (; born October 4, 1949) is an American former professional baseball catcher, manager, and coach. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals from 1976 to 1985. Wathan was a member of ...

. His brother, Derek, played in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

from 1998 to 2008.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wathan, Dusty 1973 births Living people Akron Aeros players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona League Mariners players Baseball coaches from Florida Baseball players from Jacksonville, Florida Brewster Whitecaps players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Everett AquaSox players Huntsville Stars players Kansas City Royals players Lancaster JetHawks players Lehigh Valley IronPigs managers Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball third base coaches Memphis Chicks players New Haven Ravens players Omaha Royals players Orlando Rays players Ottawa Lynx players Philadelphia Phillies coaches Portland Sea Dogs players Reading Phillies managers Reading Phillies players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Tacoma Rainiers players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players

Early life

Baseball career

Playing career

Managerial and coaching career

Personal life

See also

References

External links