Karl Otto Kuehl (pronounced "keel"; September 5, 1937 – August 6, 2008) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

and a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

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 ...

official, coach and

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 ...

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 ...

. He also was the co-author of two books on the mental approach to baseball: ''The Mental Game of Baseball: A Guide to Peak Performance'' (1989) and ''A Champion's State of Mind'' (2005).

Montreal Expos' manager (1976)

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, Kuehl was named the second manager in the history of 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 ...

franchise, although he did not complete a full season in the job. His Expos won only 43 of 128 games (.336) and were in last place in the National League East Division when Kuehl was replaced by Charlie Fox on September 4. He was promoted to Montreal after a successful stint as skipper of the Expos' top

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

, the

Memphis Blues The Memphis blues is a style of blues music created from the 1910s to the 1930s by musicians in the Memphis area, such as Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie. The style was popular in vaudeville and medicine sho ...

, in 1975. Previously, he managed the Double-A Québec Carnavals in 1972–1973 before moving up to Triple-A Memphis.

Minor league career

Kuehl was born in

Monterey Park, California Monterey Park is a city in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east of the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. It is bordered by Alhambra, California, Alhambra, East Los Angeles, ...

. As a player, he was a ,

minor league 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 ...

first baseman 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 ...

and

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 ...

who batted and threw left-handed. He played in the farm system of the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

from 1955 through 1958, rising to the

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were prev ...

of the Open-Classification

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

for ten games in 1957, compiling a lifetime .306 batting average. He began his managing career at the young age of 21The Associated Press, 2008-08-06
/ref> as the player manager of the unaffiliated Salem Senators of the Class B

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

in 1959. He rejoined the Cincinnati system in 1961 as pilot of the Class D Geneva Redlegs of the

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 then worked as a scout and minor league manager for 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 ...

and the Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers before joining the Montreal organization in 1971.

Major League coach and executive

After weathering the 1976 debacle, Kuehl remained in the Major Leagues as a coach with 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 ...

Information
at

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores fr ...

under manager Gene Mauch, whom he had replaced in Montreal. He also served under Mauch's successors, Johnny Goryl and

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 ...

, during his six years (1977–1982) with the Twins. Kuehl then headed the player development department of the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

from 1983 through 1995, a period when the A's had one of the most productive

s in baseball. After leaving Oakland, he spent two seasons (1996–1997) in the front office of 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 ...

. From 2001 to 2007, Kuehl was special advisor, baseball operations, for 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 ...

. He died as a result of

pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory ...

on August 6, 2008, in a

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

, hospital at the age of 70.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

Baseball Reference Baseball Reference is a baseball statistics database maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for Major League Baseball (MLB) players and teams as well as records, MLB draft history, and sabermetrics. History Founder ...

br>MLB managerial page
*

br>MLB managerial and MLB coaching page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuehl, Karl 1937 births 2008 deaths Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California Cleveland Indians executives Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis Geneva Redlegs players High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms players Houston Astros scouts Major League Baseball farm directors Major League Baseball third base coaches Milwaukee Brewers scouts Minnesota Twins coaches Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos managers Montreal Expos scouts Oakland Athletics executives Oakland Athletics scouts Ogden Reds players Salem Senators players Savannah Redlegs players Seattle Pilots scouts Seattle Rainiers players Toronto Blue Jays executives 20th-century American sportsmen