Randal Harold Niemann (born November 15, 1955) is 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

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 * Co ...

and a former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

who appeared in 122 Major League

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (su ...

, all but 10 in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, in 1979–80 and 1982–87 for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

and

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) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

. Niemann was a

southpaw Southpaw is another name for a left-handed individual, particularly in sports. Southpaw may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''The Southpaw'', a 1952 novel by Mark Harris * Southpaw (comics), a fictional character in the Marvel comic ''Sh ...

pitcher who stood tall and weighed . Born in Scotia, California, he attended

Fortuna Union High School Fortuna Union High School or FUHS, is a public high school in Fortuna, California. The school serves a large area of the midsection of Humboldt County. Despite this, enrollment is down from a recent high of 1,159 in 2000–01 to 844 in 2013–201 ...

then

College of the Redwoods College of the Redwoods (CR) is a public community college with its main campus in Eureka, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and serves three counties and has two branch campuses, as well as three additional si ...

. Niemann originally signed with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

after he was selected in the second round of the secondary phase of the 1975 Major League Baseball Draft, and his active career spanned 14 pro seasons (1975–88). In the Major Leagues, he worked in 200

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

, and allowed 219 hits and 82

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Sec ...

, with 102 strikeouts, three saves and three

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pit ...

s. He won seven of 15 decisions (.467) and compiled a career

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

of 4.64. As a hitter, Niemann posted a .267

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 i ...

(8-for-30) with 2 runs and 2

in 33

plate appearances In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

. Defensively, he handled 53

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

(16 putouts, 37 assists) without an error for a perfect 1.000

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

Coaching career

After retiring as an active player, Niemann became a coach and instructor in the

' organization for over two decades, serving as 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 N ...

instructor (1988–96; 2000; 2003–08; 2011) and the club's Major League

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

coach (1997–99; 2001–02; 2009–10). Among the managers he worked for was Bobby Valentine, and in 2012 he left the Mets' organization to serve under Valentine and pitching coach Bob McClure as the assistant pitching coach of 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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

. On August 20, 2012, he was named Boston's head pitching coach and served through the end of the season, but was not retained by Valentine's successor, John Farrell. In 2013, he joined the St. Louis Cardinals' organization as pitching coach of the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for eac ...

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

, holding that position through 2017. In , the Cardinals promoted him to minor league pitching coordinator.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Niemann, Randy 1955 births Living people Baseball players from California Boston Red Sox coaches Charleston Charlies players Chicago White Sox players College of the Redwoods Corsairs baseball players Columbus Astros players Denver Zephyrs players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Hawaii Islanders players Houston Astros players Pittsburgh Pirates players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Mayos de Navojoa players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball coaches Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Mets coaches New York Mets players Oneonta Yankees players People from Scotia, California Portland Beavers players St. Lucie Legends players Tidewater Tides players Tucson Toros players West Haven Yankees players