Timothy Neal Christopher Ireland (born March 14, 1953) is a 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 ...

player. He played parts of two seasons 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 ...

for 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 ...

, appearing in 11 games in 1981 and 1982. He has also managed 12 seasons at various levels of the minor leagues. Ireland was originally selected in the 25th round of the

1973 Major League Baseball draft The 1973 Major League Baseball draft took place during the 1973 MLB season. The draft saw the Texas Rangers select David Clyde first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1973 Major League Baseball dra ...

by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

. He was released by Montreal in April 1975, and over the next four seasons was under contract to five different organizations, ending up with the Royals in May 1977. He spent four more seasons with the Royals organization before making it to the majors in 1981, when he played four games at first base without coming to bat. He did score one run that season as a

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

. In 1982 he played in 7 additional games, including a pair of starts in right field, going 1-for-7 at the plate. In December, he was released. He then played two seasons for the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

in Japan, and for the Fort Myers Sun Sox in 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 1989. After his playing career, he managed the

Salinas Spurs Several minor league baseball teams have been based in Salinas, California and played in the California League. Salinas Spurs The Salinas Spurs were a California League team that played from 1982 to 1987 and again from 1989 to 1992. Located in ...

in the

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 ...

in 1989. He then managed from 1992 until 1997 in the

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 ...

farm system, winning league titles with the

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at Banner I ...

in the California League in 1992 and with the

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, wh ...

in the

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 ...

in 1994. He spent the next three seasons as a scout for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

, mostly in the Pacific Rim, signing Chin-hui Tsao among other players. In 2001, he returned to minor league managing with the independent

Sonoma County Crushers The Sonoma County Crushers were a minor league baseball team located in Rohnert Park, California. They were a member of the independent Western Baseball League, and were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball team. The team was one of the ...

. The following season, he was hired by the Texas Rangers, and managed in their system until 2004, when he won another league title with the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. Based in Frisco, Texas, the team is named aft ...

of the Texas League. In 2005, the Rangers made Ireland their minor league baserunning coordinator. In 2006, he started the season as manager of the

Oklahoma RedHawks Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, but was replaced after 33 games by

Mike Boulanger Michael Boulanger (born August 21, 1949, at Ponca City, Oklahoma) is an American baseball coach and scout. He is scheduled to spend the season as a scout for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball, after working in 2012–2013 as the Orio ...

Sources

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland, Tim 1953 births Living people American expatriate baseball people in Taiwan American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Oakland, California Chabot College alumni Chabot Gladiators baseball players Colorado Rockies scouts Fort Myers Sun Sox players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Jacksonville Suns players Jamestown Expos players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball right fielders Miami Marlins (FSL) players Miami Orioles players Minor league baseball managers Nippon Professional Baseball second basemen Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Omaha Royals players Pompano Beach Cubs players Québec Carnavals players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Trois-Rivières Aigles players Vancouver Canadians players West Palm Beach Expos players