Ralph Rowe
Ralph Emanuel Rowe (July 14, 1924 — February 29, 1996) was an American outfielder and manager in minor league baseball, and a coach at the Major League level. A native and lifelong resident of Newberry, South Carolina, Rowe threw right-handed, batted left-handed, stood 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). He graduated from Newberry High School and attended Newberry College.
Rowe's professional career got off to a rousing start in 1942, when he batted .357 for the Thomasville Hi-Toms, a Cleveland Indians affiliate in the Class D North Carolina State League. But he lost the next four full seasons (1943–1946) to military service and, despite batting .360 and leading the 1948 Class B Tri-State League in runs batted in (123), he spent most of his playing career at the Double-A level. Rowe's career reached its apex with a 14-game trial with the Los Angeles Angels of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in 1949. He played in the farm systems of the Indians, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and the Washington Senators through 1958, then became a manager in the Washington/Minnesota Twins farm system from 1959–1971, winning two league championships. His overall record was 836–757 (.525).
He finally reached the Major Leagues as a coach, serving for four seasons with the Twins (1972–1975) as their third base coach, and four more (1981–1984) as the batting coach of the Baltimore Orioles. He was a member of the Orioles' staff during their 1983 world championship season. Rowe also served as a roving minor league batting coach for the Twins, Orioles, and, after 1984, the Montreal Expos.
He died in Newberry at the age of 71.
External links
References
- Howe News Bureau, 1985 Montreal Expos Organization Book. St. Petersburg, Florida: The Baseball Library, 1985.
| Preceded by Frankie Crosetti |
Minnesota Twins third base coach 1972-1975 |
Succeeded by Joe Nossek |
| Preceded by Frank Robinson |
Baltimore Orioles hitting coach 1981-1984 |
Succeeded by Terry Crowley |
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