John Albert Goryl (born October 21, 1933) is an American former

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

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 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 ...

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 ...

. A right-handed batter and thrower who stood tall and weighed , Goryl apprenticed in the

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

s of the Boston / Milwaukee Braves and

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 ...

for seven full seasons beginning in 1951. He played 117 games for the Cubs over three seasons (– 59), returned to the

minor leagues 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 ...

when he was traded to 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 ...

, then joined the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

in for the remainder of his MLB playing career. His finest season was , when he hit .287 with nine

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 in 64 games. Overall, Goryl batted .225 with 134

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 276

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

over six MLB campaigns. When his playing career ended, Goryl became a manager in the Twins' farm system (– 68;

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

– 78), and third-base coach of the MLB Twins (– 69; – 80). During his second stint as a Minnesota coach in he was named successor to manager Gene Mauch on August 25. The Twins won 23 of their final 36 games that season, to improve from sixth to third place in the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams cu ...

, but when they faltered coming out of the gate in — losing 25 of their first 36 games — Goryl was replaced by one of his coaches,

Billy Gardner William Frederick Gardner (July 19, 1927 – January 3, 2024) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. During his ten-season active career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Gardner was a second baseman for the New York G ...

. His career MLB managing record was 34–38 (.472). After his release from the Twins, Goryl joined 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 ...

' organization as a Major League coach (– 88; – 98) and development official in the Indians' minor league system, continuing into the present day as special adviser/player development. He was inducted in the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. Goryl won the Mike Coolbaugh Award in 2012 for his work ethic, knowledge of the game, and mentoring of young players.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Goryl, Johnny 1933 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Cuba Bluefield Blue-Grays players Chicago Cubs players Cienfuegos players Cleveland Indians coaches Denver Bears players Eau Claire Bears players Eau Claire Braves players Evansville Braves players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Memphis Chickasaws players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Minnesota Twins coaches Minnesota Twins managers Minnesota Twins players Omaha Dodgers players People from Cumberland, Rhode Island Baseball players from Providence County, Rhode Island St. Paul Saints (AA) players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Wichita Indians players 20th-century American sportsmen