Dale Patrick Kelly (born August 27, 1955) 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 ...
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 current
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 ...
. He 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
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 ...
.
Career
Drafted in the third round of amateur draft, his career in the majors consisted of three games. Kelly made his MLB debut with 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 ...
on May 28, , and played his final game six days later. In seven at-bats, he had two hits, for a .286
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 ...
, with no
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 or
RBIs. Kelly batted and threw
right-handed
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...
.
On July 3, 2007, Kelly replaced
Bucky Dent as the
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 ...
bench coach on an interim basis.
On June 5, 2008, Kelly's son
Casey was the 30th selection of the first round, by the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
in the
MLB's First Year Player Draft. Pat's older son, Chris, played in the
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...
farm system.
In January 2014, Kelly replaced
Ken Griffey Sr. as the manager of the Reds' Single High-Class A California League affiliate in
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region.
Bakersfield's population as of th ...
. Kelly had managed the Reds' Rookie League team in
Billings, Montana
Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...
in 2013.
In December 2014, Kelly was named manager of the Reds'
Double-A affiliate, the
Pensacola Blue Wahoos
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...
. On April 18, 2018, Kelly once again became the interim bench coach for the Reds.
In January 2019, Kelly was named manager of the Reds' Double-A affiliate, the
Chattanooga Lookouts
The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...
. He was named the manager of the
Louisville Bats
The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...
prior to the 2020 season.
On July 11, 2024, Kelly earned his 2,000th win in his 35th season as a Minor League Baseball manager. He is the seventh manager to reach the feat.
Winter ball
In between, Kelly played winter ball with the
Cardenales de Lara
The Cardenales de Lara () is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP). Founded in 1942 and based in Barquisimeto, the Cardenales have won seven domestic titles, including back-to-back in 1998 and 1999, 2019, 2020 and ...
club of the
Venezuelan League in the 1977–1978 season, and also
managed the
Indios de Mayagüez
The Indios de Mayagüez (Mayagüez Indians) are a baseball team in Puerto Rico's Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, in Spanish). Based in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, the ''Indios' ...
of
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
to the
1992 Caribbean Series championship title. He also played for the
Bradenton Explorers of the
Senior Professional Baseball Association
The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...
in its 1989 inaugural season.
[ On August 13, 2021 Kelly reached his 1,800 career win as a manage]
The Trading Card Database
/ref>
References
External links
1955 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Atlanta Braves scouts
Baseball coaches from California
Billings Mustangs managers
Bradenton Explorers players
Cardenales de Lara players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Caribbean Series managers
Chattanooga Lookouts managers
Cincinnati Reds coaches
Durham Bulls players
El Paso Diablos players
Florence Blue Jays players
Glens Falls White Sox players
Idaho Falls Angels players
Indianapolis Indians managers
Kinston Eagles players
Knoxville Blue Jays players
Las Vegas 51s managers
Louisville Bats managers
Major League Baseball bench coaches
Major League Baseball catchers
Minor league baseball coaches
Quad Cities Angels players
Reno Padres players
Salinas Packers players
Salinas Angels players
Savannah Braves players
Sportspeople from Santa Maria, California
Baseball players from Santa Barbara County, California
Syracuse Chiefs managers
Toronto Blue Jays players
Toronto Blue Jays scouts
20th-century American sportsmen
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