Mark Alan Riggins (born January 3, 1957 in

Loogootee, Indiana Loogootee () is a city in Perry Township, Martin County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,751 at the time of the 2010 census. History Loogootee was established in 1853 when it was certain that a new railroad line would be ext ...

) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitching 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 decisio ...

for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(MLB).

Playing career

Riggins attended

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...

and played five seasons in 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 Nor ...

, from 1979 to 1983. He debuted with the

GCL Cardinals The Florida Complex League Cardinals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Cardinals. The team plays i ...

, going 3-1 with a 2.16

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

in 8 appearances. In 1980, Mark excelled with the St. Petersburg Cardinals. His record was 7-3 with 13 saves and a 1.86 ERA in 57 games. He led 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 ...

in saves and made the league All-Star team. Moving up to the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

in 1981, Riggins struggled, going 4-6 with one save and a 5.87 ERA. He allowed 109 hits in 89 innings of work. In 1982, Mark became a starter and fared better in a return engagement with Arkansas; his line that year was 10-8, 3.93 and he just missed the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

top 10 in ERA. In his last year as a player, Riggins spent time with St. Petersburg (4-1, 1.54 in 30 games), the

Louisville Redbirds Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

(0-0, 4.85 in 5 games) and the

Charlotte O's The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

(0-2, 7.66 in 5 games).

Coaching career

After his playing days ended, he became a minor league coach. His appearances included a stint with the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They compete as a member of the Texas League's North Division. The Cardinals began play in 2005. The team is owned by the 11-time Major League Baseball ...

in 1987. He was interim manager of the

in 1992 and 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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

' pitching coach in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. Riggins was the Cardinals' minor league pitching coordinator from 1996 to 2007 and held the same position 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 part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in 2008-2010. In December 2010, he was named the pitching coach for the

for the 2011 season. He spent four years as the pitching coordinator for the

minor league system. On October 21, 2015, Riggins was named pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds. On July 4, 2016 Riggins was fired from the Cincinnati Reds.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riggins, Mark Minor league baseball managers St. Louis Cardinals coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Gastonia Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Arkansas Travelers players Louisville Redbirds players Charlotte O's players Living people 1957 births Murray State University alumni Cincinnati Reds coaches

Playing career

Coaching career

See also

References

External links