Dave Magadan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Joseph Magadan (born September 30, 1962 in Tampa, Florida) is a former third and first baseman and coach in Major League Baseball. He is 6'4" tall, weighs 215 lbs, batted from the left side, and threw from the right. He is the cousin and godson of Lou Piniella, a major league player and manager.

1 Amateur playing career
2 Professional playing career
3 Post-playing career
4 Other notes
5 External links

[edit] Amateur playing career

While a student at Jesuit High School of Tampa, Magadan was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the twelfth round (the 310th overall pick) of the June draft in 1980. He elected not to sign and remain in school, and Magadan's status as a prospect improved after he led West Tampa, Florida to a win against a team from Richmond, Virginia in the American Legion World Series and was named series Most Valuable Player. Magadan attended the University of Alabama, where his skills continued to improve. In 1983, his .525 batting average set an SEC record and led the entire NCAA, and took Alabama to the championship game of the College World Series. After that season he won the Golden Spikes Award, was selected as an AP All-American, and was named the starting designated hitter on The Sporting News's college All-America team, as well as College Player of the Year by Baseball America. His .439 career batting average is the SEC record and 10th best in NCAA history, and his 1983 average is the 5th best in NCAA history.

Magadan's patience to await a pro career paid off in 1983, as the The New York Mets chose Magadan with the 32nd overall pick of the June draft, early in the second round, and after signing he made his professional debut with the Columbia Mets of the South Atlantic League. September 17, 1983 he married Kelly Horton of Tuscaloosa, AL, and began his first full season with the Lynchburg Mets.

[edit] Professional playing career

Magadan did not display much power as a prospect, but he consistently hit for a high batting average and displayed an excellent plate discipline, with a low strikeout rate and twice as many walks as strikeouts. He advanced steadily through the system, and appeared in his first major league game on September 7, 1986. His callup came too late for him to gain postseason eligibility during the Mets' World Series run that year, but he was an important part of their contending squads for the rest of the decade. On September 17, 1986, Magadan replaced the ailing Keith Hernandez at first base, in his first major league start. He went 3 for 3 and the Mets beat the Cubs 4-2, clinching the National League East division. Though blocked at third base by Howard Johnson and at first by Keith Hernandez, Magadan still found his way into the lineup on a semi-regular basis. He provided a quality bat in late-inning situations and a capable spot starter whenever a regular needed a day off. Manager Davey Johnson even went so far as to move Johnson to shortstop for 30 games a year, just to get Magadan more playing time.

Magadan came up as a third baseman, but saw playing time at first as well; and contrary to early reports of a mediocre glove, proved himself to be quite capable at first, though certainly not in Hernandez' class.

Magadan's best season came in 1990, when he replaced the aging Hernandez as the Mets' everyday first baseman, wresting the job from the ex-Dodger Mike Marshall. His .328 batting average ranked third in the league, and his .417 on-base percentage was good for second place. He also ranked eighth in walks and fifth in sacrifice flies, and even drew four points in MVP voting. Magadan never played so prominent a role again, but he continued to be a productive bat, leaving the Mets as a free agent after 1992 and changing teams frequently thereafter. He played for the Seattle Mariners, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, and Oakland Athletics in turn, finally retiring with the San Diego Padres after the 2001 season. Magadan appeared in 1,582 major league games and collected 1,197 hits. He finished his career with a .288 batting average, a .390 on-base percentage, and a .377 slugging percentage.

[edit] Post-playing career

After his retirement as a player, Magadan went to work for the Padres in various instructional capacities. He was their minor league hitting instructor in 2002, and then their major league batting coach from 2003 to the present day. David has two sons from his first marriage, Jordan (11/7/88) and Christian (7/11/91). He is currently married to his second wife. They have a daughter, Peyton Marin (8/5/04) together.

As of June 15, 2006, Dave Magadan was fired from the Padres organization as their hitting coach. This was mainly due to lack of consistency of the offense, having a NL-low .252 batting average. According to an article at Padres.com, Magadan was "shocked" to be let go.

On October 13, 2006, the Boston Red Sox hired Magadan for a still to be determined role.

On October 20, 2006, Magadan was named hitting coach by the Boston Red Sox.

[edit] Other notes

Magadan was a fan of the prominent table baseball game, APBA, along with other major leaguers such as Jim Sundberg, Bump Wills and Curt Schilling. Reportedly one day in spring 1987 Dave was asked to sign his APBA game card by a fan, when Fred McGriff (who also grew up in Tampa and would join Dave for off-season workouts) arrived and asked what the card meant. Magadan proudly noted that his card for that year contained at least a couple of home runs, reflecting his surprising power that year.