Anthony John DeFrancesco (born April 24, 1963) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

coach. Previously, he was interim

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 ...

with 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 ...

; served one season as third-base coach for 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 ...

; spent six seasons as manager of the Sacramento River Cats; and was a minor league coach and manager for the Oakland Athletics

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 ...

for fourteen years, managing teams in the

Arizona Rookie League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it fo ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

(PCL). As a player, he was a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

in the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

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 ...

s from 1984 to 1992. As the manager of the PCL's River Cats, (Oakland's Triple-A farm club), DeFrancesco led the team to three PCL titles in five years, winning the Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year Award and ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' Minor League Manager of the Year award in 2003. The River Cats won the 2007 Bricktown Showdown under DeFrancesco. In 2015, he managed the Fresno Grizzlies, the Triple-A PCL affiliate of the Houston Astros, to the Triple-A National Championship and was named ''Baseball America's'' Minor League Manager of the Year.

Playing career

DeFrancesco played three seasons at Seton Hall for head coach Mike Sheppard. In 1982 and 1983, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

, helping lead the club to the league title in 1983. DeFrancesco was selected in the ninth round of the 1984 draft by the

. During a nine-year minor league playing career, DeFrancesco played in 567 games and advanced as high as AAA, but never played in the majors.

Managerial and coaching career

Minor Leagues

After retiring as a player, DeFrancesco began his managing career in 1994 with the Arizona League Athletics. In 2003 Tony DeFrancesco moved up to the

's Sacramento River Cats, where he led the team to a 92-52 record in his first year, earning him the 2003 Minor League Manager of the Year from ''The Sporting News''. DeFrancesco would continue to lead the River Cats to PCL championships in 2004 and 2007. In 2008, DeFrancesco became the third base coach for the

. In 2009, Oakland announced that DeFrancesco would return to the Sacramento River Cats as manager, replacing Todd Steverson. On November 30, 2010, the Athletics announced that Darren Bush would replace DeFrancesco as manager of the River Cats.

Houston Astros

On August 19, 2012, the Astros announced DeFrancesco would be the interim manager of the major league team for the remainder of the 2012 season, replacing Brad Mills. He won his first game in his fifth game as manager when the Astros defeated the

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

on August 24. With his appointment late in the 2012 season, DeFrancesco served as the final manager of the Astros as a National League franchise. He finished with a record of 16 wins and 25 losses. The Astros were in the midst of a major rebuild at the time, and on the way to their second consecutive 100-loss season; DeFrancesco's .390 winning percentage was actually a significant upgrade over the .322 win percentage the 2012 team had achieved before DeFrancesco's tenure.

Return to the minors

He was the manager of the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies from 2015 to 2017. During his first season, he led the Central Valley team to become the Triple-A champions. It was the team's first time winning the Triple-A championship in 18 seasons. Tony DeFrancesco then won ''Baseball America'' Minor League Manager of the Year Award. DeFrancesco was named manager of the AAA Las Vegas 51s of the

organization for the 2018 season. He stayed as the Mets moved their AAA team to upstate New York, remaining manager of the 2019

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which ope ...

in their inaugural season. He led Syracuse to a 75—66 record, their first winning record since 2014, but did not make the playoffs after losing the division tie-breaker game to the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

. He was interviewed as a possible candidate to become the next Mets manager in their search during the 2019 offseason. The job ultimately went to Carlos Beltrán.

New York Mets

On December 8, 2019, DeFrancesco was named the first base coach for the New York Mets. After the 2020 season, he was replaced by Tony Tarasco at first base while being reassigned within the organization.

Managerial record

References

External links

*
A's coaches page for Tony DeFrancesco

Tony DeFrancesco Minor League Statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Defrancesco, Tony 1963 births Living people Pawtucket Red Sox players Nashville Sounds players New Britain Red Sox players Cedar Rapids Reds players Winter Haven Red Sox players Chattanooga Lookouts players Elmira Pioneers players Reno Silver Sox players Greensboro Hornets players Oakland Athletics coaches Major League Baseball first base coaches Houston Astros managers Seton Hall Pirates baseball players Harwich Mariners players Las Vegas 51s managers Syracuse Mets managers People from Suffern, New York New York Mets coaches