Ronald Bryan Coomer (born November 18, 1966), nicknamed "Coom Dawg", is an American former

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

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 ...

and the current color analyst and play-by-play broadcaster 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 a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

radio on WSCR 670 AM. Coomer had a nine-year major league career from to playing for the

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He was elected to the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

All-Star team in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

while with the Twins. During his baseball career he opened up a baseball facility in

Orland Park, Illinois Orland Park is a Village (United States)#Illinois, village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County, Illinois, Will County. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Orland Park ...

, called C.F. Swingtown Baseball Academy, which is no longer owned by Coomer.

Baseball career

Coomer was drafted by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

in the 14th round of the 1987 amateur draft. After the 1990 season, he was released by the A's. He was signed by the

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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

on March 18, 1991. In 1993, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for

Isidro Márquez Isidro Márquez Espinoza (born May 14, 1965) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox. Career Márquez played during one season at the major league level for the Chic ...

. After two seasons in the minors, Coomer was traded to the Minnesota Twins with Greg Hansell and José Parra for Mark Guthrie and

Kevin Tapani Kevin Ray Tapani (born February 18, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs from 1989 to 2001. Early life Tapani was ra ...

. Coomer spent five seasons with the Twins, with whom he made the All-Star team in 1999. After the emergence of third baseman Corey Koskie, Coomer began to lose playing time. In his last year as a Twin,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, Koskie started the majority of the games at third and Coomer was shifted to first base. In

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, Coomer signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago Cubs. He hit .261/.316/.390 in his only year in Chicago before becoming a free agent. Coomer signed a one-year deal with the New York Yankees in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

as a reserve third baseman. He started 26 games for the Yankees at third. He joined the Dodgers the next year, where he mainly played first base. Coomer's offensive production dipped to .240/.299/.368 and after that year he retired from baseball.

Broadcasting

In 2012 and 2013, Coomer was a

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

for

Fox Sports North FanDuel Sports Network North is an American regional sports network owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) and operated as a FanDuel Sports Network affiliate. The channel broadcasts coverage of sporting events involving ...

, the Minnesota Twins' primary television broadcaster. He also regularly appeared on KTWN-FM, the primary radio affiliate for the Minnesota Twins. On December 12, 2013, it was reported that Coomer would succeed Keith Moreland as the analyst on the Chicago Cubs Radio Network. He is partnered with longtime broadcaster Pat Hughes.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coomer, Ron 1966 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players 20th-century American sportsmen American League All-Stars Baseball players from Chicago Birmingham Barons players Caribes de Oriente players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Chicago Cubs announcers Chicago Cubs players Huntsville Stars players Iowa Cubs players Los Angeles Dodgers players Madison Muskies players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Medford A's players Minnesota Twins announcers Minnesota Twins players Modesto A's players Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees players Taft Cougars baseball players Vero Beach Dodgers players