Richard Alan Kranitz (born September 15, 1958) is an American 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 ...

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 ...

for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

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). Previously, he served as the

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 decision ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Playing career

Kranitz attended Apollo High School in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city al ...

. He went to

Yavapai College Yavapai College is a public community college in Yavapai County, Arizona. The main campus is in Prescott, with locations in Clarkdale, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Sedona. History Yavapai College was established in 1965 by means of a ...

and

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. Kranitz was drafted by the

in the fourth round (101st overall) of the

1979 Major League Baseball draft The 1979 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 5–7, 1979, via conference call. First round selections The following are the first-round picks in the 1979 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Compensation Picks Other ...

. He pitched in the minor leagues from 1979 through 1985 without making the majors.

Coaching career

Kranitz served as a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

with the

Pikeville Cubs The Pikeville Cubs were a minor league baseball team based in Pikeville, Kentucky. From 1982 to 1984, Pikeville teams played as a member of the Rookie level Appalachian League, hosting home games at the Pikeville Athletic Field. The 1982 team play ...

in 1984 and the

Winston-Salem Spirits Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1985, though he pitched a total of three innings in those seasons. He served as a minor league pitching coach, Minor League Pitching Coordinator and an assistant coach for the Cubs organization through 2001, when he was named the bullpen coach for the 2002 season. Kranitz managed the

Daytona Cubs Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Day ...

in 2003 and served as the pitching coach for the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

in 2004 and 2005. Kranitz was named the pitching coach for the

in 2006. He was named ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

's'' 2006 Major League Coach of the Year in his first year as pitching coach for the Marlins. Kranitz remained with the Marlins in 2007, but resigned shortly before the end of the season. In 2008, Kranitz became the pitching coach for the

. There, he struggled to find the same success as in Florida; in 2008 and 2009 the Orioles' pitching staff posted team ERAs of 5.13 and 5.15, respectively. In 2010, although the end-of-year numbers were much more respectable, the team was doomed by a historically futile start that saw them win only 34 of their first 105 games. On November 1, 2010, Kranitz accepted an offer from 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 ...

to become their minor league pitching coordinator. On November 15, 2010, it was announced that Kranitz would be replacing

Rick Peterson Erick Harding "Rick" Peterson (born October 30, 1954) is an American former pitcher and pitching coach in Major League Baseball. He was most recently the director of pitching development for the Baltimore Orioles. He was a pitcher in the Pittsbur ...

as pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was dismissed after the 2015 season. Kranitz became the bullpen coach for the

in the 2016 season, and was promoted to pitching coach for the 2018 season. Kranitz was fired by the Phillies shortly after the 2018 season. The

announced on December 6, 2018, that Kranitz had joined manager Brian Snitker's staff. Kranitz won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

with the Atlanta Braves on November 2, 2021.

References

External links

*Coaching statistics and information fro
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kranitz, Rick 1958 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Atlanta Braves coaches Baltimore Orioles coaches Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Marin County, California Burlington Bees players Chicago Cubs coaches El Paso Diablos players Florida Marlins coaches Holyoke Millers players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitching coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches Minor league baseball coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball players Philadelphia Phillies coaches Pikeville Cubs players Sportspeople from San Rafael, California Stockton Ports players Vancouver Canadians players Winston-Salem Spirits players 20th-century American sportsmen