Gary Andrew Varsho (born June 20, 1961) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

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 ...

, and coach, who played in

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) for the

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

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 ...

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

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 ...

Baseball career

As player

Varsho was selected by the

in the fifth round (107th overall) of the 1982 June draft as a

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

and made his MLB debut with the Cubs on July 9, 1988. His first major league hit came off Ed Whitson on July 9, 1988, against 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. ...

. After being traded to the Pirates, Varsho connected off the Cubs’ Shawn Boskie for his first big league

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

on July 2, 1992, at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

. Varsho appeared for the Pirates in the

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

and 1992 National League Championship Series; in three postseason games (all as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

), he singled twice in three

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

, and spent one defensive

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

. Primarily an outfielder, Varsho played 14 years of pro baseball, including eight seasons in the major leagues (–).

After playing

Varsho was the Phillies bench coach (–) and was interim manager for the last two games of the season, after Larry Bowa was fired. Varsho was fired as the Pirates’ bench coach on August 8, 2010. In , he became a professional scout for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

. Since , Varsho has served in the same capacity for the Pirates.

Personal life

In 1979, Varsho graduated from Marshfield High School in

Marshfield, Wisconsin Marshfield is a city in Wood County, Wisconsin, Wood and Marathon County, Wisconsin, Marathon counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 18,929 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census; of this, 18,119 were in Wood County a ...

, after which he attended University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, where he received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in physical education in 1989. Varsho and his wife, Kay, have three children: daughter Andie, born October 19, 1991; daughter Taylor, born April 12, 1994; and son Daulton, born July 2, 1996, who is a professional baseball

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 ...

and

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

References

External links

Gary Varsho
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Gary Varsho
at Baseball Almanac
Gary Varsho
Pittsburgh Pirates Bio {{DEFAULTSORT:Varsho, Gary 1961 births Living people Baseball players from Wisconsin Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Indianapolis Indians players Iowa Cubs players Los Angeles Angels scouts Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball right fielders Midland Cubs players People from Marshfield, Wisconsin Philadelphia Phillies managers Philadelphia Phillies coaches Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsfield Cubs players Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Pittsburgh Pirates players Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Quad Cities Cubs players Reading Phillies managers Salinas Spurs players University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni Wisconsin–Oshkosh Titans baseball players 20th-century American sportsmen