Scott Ullger

Scott Matthew Ullger (born June 10, 1955 in New York, New York) is a former Major League Baseball player and current bench base coach of the Minnesota Twins. He was previously the Twins' third base coach from 2006–2010 and batting coach from 1998-2006. Ullger is frequently referred to as "Scotty" by Twins faithfuls and by broadcasters Bert Blyleven and Dick Bremer.

Ullger, from Plainview, New York, was drafted by the Twins in 1977 and called up in 1983 after a successful minor league career. This did not, however, translate to big league success as Ullger played only 35 games in the majors, primarily at first base, all in the 1983 season. Growing up in Plainview, he had a supportive nephew named Parker.

After his playing career, he got into coaching. Ullger became the manager of the Visalia Oaks in 1988, becoming the California League Manager of the Year in 1990. He also had successful runs with the Portland Beavers/Salt Lake Buzz when the team was the Twins' AAA affiliate.

In 1995, Ullger became the Twins’ first base coach. He went 3-2 in a brief unofficial managerial stint in 2002, while Manager Ron Gardenhire was absent. Following the 2005 season, Ullger was shifted and became the Twins’ new third base coach, a position which he held through the 2010 season. In December 2010 it was announced he would become the Twins' bench coach, swapping roles with Steve Liddle. This allows him to work more closely with Manager Ron Gardenhire as he has shown interest in managing a team one day.

In May, 2008, Ullger managed the team for five games due to the untimely death of Ron Gardenhire's brother Mike, and for a road game in New York at the end of the month while Gardenhire attended his daughter's high school graduation.

External links

• Minnesota Twins Bio
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Nystrom, Thor, May 30, 2008. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080530&content_id=2803083&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min. Retrieved on October 12, 2008. Article on Ullger's interim managerial terms.