Thomas William Runnells (born April 17, 1955) is an American former

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

, coach and manager 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 ...

(MLB).

Biography

Runnells attended the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has offi ...

and originally signed with the

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

. He played parts of two seasons (

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

– 86) with the

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

, appearing in 40 games and batting .174 in 46

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s without a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

run batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

. He was a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers, although there are some exceptions. Characteristics Right-han ...

who threw right-handed. Runnells began his managerial career with Cincinnati's AA Eastern League affiliate, the Vermont Reds, in . In

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, his

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

won the American Association championship and the "AAA Classic", earning him a promotion to a coaching position with the parent

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 ...

. On June 2,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, he was promoted again to manager of the Expos, who were lodged in last place in the National League East Division after 49 games. His time as Expos manager was short but tumultuous. Succeeding the very popular Buck Rodgers, he had trouble establishing his credibility with the media and the team. He was General Manager Dave Dombrowski's hand-picked man but failed to replicate his minor league success as the Expos finished the

season in last place for the first time since

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. He then proceeded to try to shake up the team through various moves. Most notably, he shifted three-time

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances. It is awarded at each fieldin ...

winner

Tim Wallach Timothy Charles Wallach (born September 14, 1957), nicknamed "Eli", is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played seventeen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman, most notably for the Montreal Expos ...

from third base to first base in order to clear a spot in the lineup for recently promoted prospect Bret Barberie. Although Runnells was harshly criticized for moving the popular Wallach, the move appeared to make some sense at the time. Barberie had seen time at all four infield positions while in the minors. However, he was blocked from second base (his best position) by Delino DeShields, didn't have the range to play shortstop, and wasn't physically capable of playing first base. Wallach was 33 years old and his best years appeared to be behind him, so it appeared logical to ease the transition by moving him to first and putting Barberie at third. However, both players got off to sluggish starts in April. With a career major league managing record of 68-81 (.456), Runnells then returned to

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 ...

, managing in the

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

s of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and 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 ...

. In the spring of 1995, Runnells managed the Tigers

replacement players In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Replacements related to strikes are most ...

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

during the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike. On May 29, 2009. Runnells was promoted to

Bench 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 ...

of the

when

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 ...

Clint Hurdle Clinton Merrick Hurdle (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager who currently serves as both the interim bench and hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hurdle played ...

was fired and bench coach Jim Tracy replaced him. He retired from the Rockies after the 2016 season.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Runnells, Tom 1955 births Living people Colorado Rockies (baseball) coaches Cincinnati Reds players Montreal Expos coaches Montreal Expos managers Detroit Tigers scouts Colorado Springs Sky Sox managers Major League Baseball infielders Baseball players from Colorado Chattanooga Lookouts managers Major League Baseball bench coaches Denver Zephyrs players Shreveport Captains players Fresno Giants players Phoenix Giants players Great Falls Giants players Wichita Aeros players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Indianapolis Indians managers Toledo Mud Hens managers Trenton Thunder managers Northern Colorado Bears baseball players 20th-century American sportsmen