John Steven Mabry ( ; born October 17, 1970) 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 ...

, broadcaster, and

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 ...

, who currently serves as a senior advisor for 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 ...

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). He had 898 career

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

in 3,409 at-bats (for a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .263), with 96

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 ( ...

s and 446 RBI. He is tall, weighs , bats left-handed and throws right-handed. John Mabry attended

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university located in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and was inducted into their Athletics Hall of Fame.

Early life

Mabry, a graduate of Bohemia Manor High School, in

Chesapeake City, Maryland Chesapeake City is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 736 at the 2020 census. The town was originally named by Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemian colonist Augustine Herman the Village of Bohem ...

, played three years at

West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public university, public research university located in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university i ...

, before being drafted by the

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

in the 6th round of the amateur draft.

Playing career

Mabry played for eight teams in his 14-year MLB career, including three stints with the Cardinals (–, , –).

St Louis Cardinals

Mabry was selected by the St Louis Cardinals in 6th round of the

1991 MLB Draft The 1991 Major League Baseball draft began 3 June 1991 to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 1990 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be distributed for players who did ...

. He made his MLB debut on April 23, 1994, against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, where had a his first career hit, a double. Mabry appeared in six games in 1994, hitting .304 in those games. In 1995, Mabry hit his first career home run against the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

on July 3. He finished 4th in Rookie Of the Year voting. In 1996, Mabry's only season with over 400

at-bat 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 ...

s, he led the Cardinals with 161 hits and was fourth in the National League for first basemen in fielding percentage at .994 and was errorless in 14 games in the outfield. He hit for a natural cycle in a May 18, , loss to the Colorado Rockies. On June 3, 1997, Mabry had six RBI in a 15–4 win over the

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

. Then, on June 14, 1997, Mabry homered in both games of a doubleheader against 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 ...

. Mabry was one of the few major leaguers who preferred not to wear batting gloves. He was also somewhat versatile on defense, playing more than 100 games at left and right field as well as first and third base. He also made two career appearances pitching with dubious results. In one

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 ...

of work, he gave up seven

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any Run (baseball), run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the ...

for a career

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of 63.

Post-playing career

In April 2011, Fox Sports Midwest hired Mabry to serve as baseball analyst during St. Louis Cardinals live pre-game and post-game shows, a role he shared with former Cardinals

Mike Matheny Michael Scott Matheny (born September 22, 1970) is an American former professional baseball player and former manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 13 seasons as a catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis ...

and Cal Eldred. On December 2, 2011, the Cardinals named Mabry the assistant hitting coach to

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, soon after announcing former teammate Matheny would be the new

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 ...

. On November 5, 2012, the Cardinals promoted Mabry to hitting coach after McGwire left for the

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

. Former major league catcher Bengie Molina succeeded Mabry as the assistant hitting coach. Mabry was released from his position as hitting coach with the

when manager Matheny was fired on July 14, 2018, just days before the All-Star break of the 2018 season. On December 5, 2019, Mabry was added to 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 ...

' staff as a major league coach. On December 13, 2022, Mabry was added to the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

staff as a major league assistant hitting coach. On October 2, 2024, Mabry was fired alongside the entirety of the Marlins coaching staff. On May 30, 2025, the

added Mabry to their coaching staff as a senior advisor.

Personal life

After his 2007 retirement as a player, Mabry continued to make his home in the

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

area along with his wife Ann and their four children. Long an avid outdoorsman, Mabry became a spokesman for Gander Mountain, making a series of videos on different aspects of hunting and fishing.

References

External links

John Mabry
at Baseball Almanac : {{DEFAULTSORT:Mabry, John 1970 births Living people Arkansas Travelers players Baseball coaches from Delaware Baseball players from Wilmington, Delaware Brevard County Manatees players Chicago Cubs players Colorado Rockies players Florida Marlins players Hamilton Redbirds players Kansas City Royals coaches Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball hitting coaches Memphis Redbirds players Miami Marlins coaches Oakland Athletics players Philadelphia Phillies players San Diego Padres players Savannah Cardinals players Seattle Mariners players Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals coaches St. Louis Cardinals players Tacoma Rainiers players West Chester Golden Rams baseball players People from Chesapeake City, Maryland