Rodney Linares (born August 7, 1977) is a Dominican–American

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

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 ...

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 managed the Dominican national team at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21. It was originally scheduled to take place in ...

. Linares played as an infielder at the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

in 1997 and 1998. Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, he threw and batted

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 ...

, stood tall and .

Career

He became a coach and instructor 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 ...

at the age of 21 in 1999, and spent two decades in the Astro organization as a batting coach and minor league

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 ...

. He is the son of Dominican baseball player

Julio Linares Julio E. Linares (born August 7, 1930 – October 27, 1993) was a Panamanian diplomat and politician. Early life and education He was born in Panama City, Panama. He studied law and political sciences from the University of Panama, Panama, ...

, a member of the Houston organization since 1973 as a coach, manager, special assignments scout and key official for the club's operations in the Dominican Republic. Julio also spent three years (1994–96) as a coach for the MLB Astros. After becoming a manager in the Astro organization in 2007, Rodney Linares oversaw the development of such players as

Jose Altuve Jose Carlos Altuve (; born May 6, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Having played for the Astros since 2011, he is the longest-tenured current member of the team, an ...

Alex Bregman Alexander David Bregman (born March 30, 1994) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros. As a high school sophomore at Albu ...

Carlos Correa Carlos Javier Correa Oppenheimer Jr. (born September 22, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros, who selected him f ...

, J. D. Martinez and

George Springer George Chelston Springer III (born September 19, 1989) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Houston Astros from 2014 to 2020. Springer has played primarily i ...

. In 2018, he managed the Triple-A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

to an 82–57, first-place finish in the

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 ...

's Pacific Northern Division; he led the Grizzlies into the second round of the PCL playoffs, where they fell to the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbird ...

. Between 2012 and 2016, his teams qualified for the playoffs in five straight seasons, and Linares won the

Class A-Advanced High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

's Manager of the Year Award in 2013 and the Double-A

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 ...

Manager of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Manager of the Year Award is an honor given annually since 1983 to two outstanding manager (baseball), managers, one each in the American League (AL) and the National League (baseball), National League (NL). The winne ...

in 2015. His minor-league managerial record over 12 seasons (2007–18) is 762–697 (.522); he has also helmed clubs in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

and the

Dominican Winter League The Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League ( or LIDOM) is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league consisting of six teams spread across the Dominican Republic; it is the highest level of professional baseball played ...

. He makes his winter home in

San Pedro de Macorís San Pedro de Macorís is a city and municipality (''municipio'') in the Dominican Republic. The capital of its eponymous province in the east region of the country, it is among the ten largest cities of the Dominican Republic. The city has approx ...

. The Rays hired Linares as their third base coach in November 2018. In November 2022, he was promoted to bench coach after incumbent

Matt Quatraro Matthew John Quatraro ( ; born November 14, 1973) is an American former professional minor league baseball player, minor league manager, and major league coach, and the current manager of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). ...

was hired as the manager of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linares, Rodney 1977 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen American baseball coaches American sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent Baseball players from Brooklyn Dominican Republic baseball coaches Dominican Republic baseball players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball people in the United States Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic national baseball team managers Gulf Coast Astros players Gulf Coast Tigers players Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Minor league baseball managers Tampa Bay Rays coaches World Baseball Classic managers