| Jeff Banister | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Banister at the 2015Winter Meetings | |
| Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 82 | |
| Catcher /Manager /Coach | |
| Born: (1964-01-15)January 15, 1964 (age 61) Weatherford, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 23, 1991, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 23, 1991, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | 1.000 |
| Hits | 1 |
| Managerial record | 325–313 |
| Winning % | .509 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager As coach
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Jeffery Todd Banister (born January 15, 1964) is an American former professionalbaseball player andmanager who is thebench coach for theArizona Diamondbacks ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he served as a special assistant for thePittsburgh Pirates. He was also as the manager of theTexas Rangers from 2015 through 2018. Before joining the Rangers, Banister spent 29 years within the Pirates organization as a player and coach in both the Pirates' major and minor league system.[1]
Banister played baseball atLa Marque High School inLa Marque, Texas. He developedbone cancer in his sophomore year, which almost necessitated theamputation of his left leg below the knee. While playingcollege baseball forLee College, he suffered ahome plate collision which broke threevertebrae in his neck, leaving him paralyzed for ten days. After rehabilitating, he was named aJunior CollegeAll-American the next season, and received a scholarship to theUniversity of Houston, to play for theHouston Cougars baseball team. He was thendrafted by the Pirates in 1986. After playing inMinor League Baseball, he appeared in one major league game on July 23, 1991, recording ahit in his onlyplate appearance. He did not appear in another major league game, ending his playing career after the 1993 season.
Following his playing career, Banister remained with the Pirates. He served as a manager for their Minor League Baseball affiliates from 1994 through 1998, and then as a minor league and major league field coordinator until 2010. The Pirates considered him for their managerial vacancy before the 2011 season, though hired him as theirbench coach, serving in that role through the 2014 season. The Rangers hired Banister as their manager during the 2014–15 offseason, and he was named theAmerican LeagueManager of the Year for 2015.
Banister attendedLa Marque High School inLa Marque, Texas.[2] At La Marque, Banister played for the school'sbaseball,basketball, andAmerican football teams. During his sophomore year of high school, Banister injured his right ankle while playing baseball. During an examination of his ankle, which was slow to heal, he was diagnosed withbone cancer.[3] He had developedcysts which requiredskin grafting to treat. An infection in his leg led to the development ofosteomyelitis, which spread from his right ankle to just below his knee. Doctors recommendedamputation to save the rest of his leg, but Banister refused, as he hoped he would be able to continue his baseball career. Doctors performed seven operations on his leg, which saved it from being amputated.[4][5] In his senior year, Banister suffered a knee injury playing American football, which nearly led to him being cut from the baseball team because of his decreased mobility. His father suggested he change positions and become acatcher, which allowed him to remain on the baseball team.[2]
At a tryout conducted by professionalscouts, Banister was noticed by the coaches atLee College, ajunior college inBaytown, Texas. They recruited Banister to playcollege baseball at Lee.[4] While catching in a 1983 game, he suffered a collision athome plate, where thebaserunner attempted to jump over him, and hit Banister in the head with his knee. The collision broke three of thevertebrae in his neck. Banister was not originally scheduled to play in that game; a scout for theNew York Yankees ofMajor League Baseball (MLB) told Lee's coach that he hoped to see Banister catch, which resulted in Banister being added to thestarting lineup in a last-minute change. As a result of the collision, Banister wasparalyzed from the neck down for ten days. Doctors initially warned him that he may never walk again. He had another three operations performed on his back and learned how to walk again during the 1984 season. Entering the hospital weighing 225 pounds (102 kg), he weighed 139 pounds (63 kg) when he was discharged. Banister recovered and played another season for Lee in 1985, and was named a Junior CollegeAll-American. He transferred toUniversity of Houston after the season to play for theHouston Cougars baseball team on a scholarship in 1986.[4][5][6]
ThePittsburgh Pirates selected Banister in the 25th round of the1986 Major League Baseball Draft; he was the 621st player chosen in the draft.[2][5] Playing inMinor League Baseball, Banister made his professional debut as a member of theWatertown Pirates of theClass A-Short SeasonNew York–Penn League in 1986. He had a .145batting average in 46games played.[7] In 1987, he played for theMacon Pirates of theClass ASouth Atlantic League, and batted .254 in 101 games.[8] Banister then played 71 games for theHarrisburg Senators of theClass AAEastern League in 1988, batting .259.[9] He returned to Harrisburg in 1989, when he batted .238 in 102 games.[10] He was named an Eastern LeagueAll-Star in 1989.[11] He returned to Harrisburg for the 1990 season, and recorded a .269 batting average in 101 games.[12] During the 1990 season, he received a promotion to theBuffalo Bisons of theClass AAAAmerican Association. In 12 games for the Bisons, Banister batted .320.[13]
Banister began the 1991 season with Buffalo. The Pirates promoted Banister from the minor leagues on July 23, 1991, whencatcherDon Slaught was injured and placed on thedisabled list.[4] ManagerJim Leyland used Banister as apinch hitter for pitcherDoug Drabek in the eighthinning of that day's game against theAtlanta Braves atThree Rivers Stadium.[14] UsingCecil Espy's bat, Banister hit a ball fromDan Petry and just beatshortstopJeff Blauser's throw tofirst base. Banister is one of only 15 batters (excluding pitchers) in baseball history to record a hit in his only major leagueplate appearance.[5]
Banister was sent back to Buffalo without playing in another game for Pittsburgh. He finished the Class AAA season with a .244 average in 79 games.[15] He missed the 1992 season when he suffered a right elbow injury that required surgery.[14] Banister served as aplayer-coach for theCarolina Mudcats of the Class AASouthern League in 1993. Playing in only eight games, he had a .333 batting average. After the season, he ended his playing career.[5][16] He retired with a career .247 batting average in 515 minor league games played.[17]
After retiring as a player, Banister remained with the Pirates' organization. From 1994 through 1998, Banister served as a manager in the Pirates' minor league system. He served as the manager of theWelland Pirates of the New York–Penn League in 1994.[18][19] A year later, he managed theAugusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League, and led them to win the league's championship.[20] Banister managed in theHawaiian Winter League in the 1995 and 1996 offseasons.[17][21] From 1996 through 1997, he was the manager of theLynchburg Hillcats of theClass A-AdvancedCarolina League.[22] Midway through the 1997 season, he was named the manager of the Carolina Mudcats,[23] a position he held through the 1998 season.[24] Banister had a 299–330 win–loss record (a .475winning percentage) as a manager from 1994 through 1998.[17]
From 1999 through 2002, Banister worked as Pittsburgh's Major League Field Coordinator on the coaching staffs of managersGene Lamont andLloyd McClendon.[17] He was then assigned the job of Minor League Field Coordinator, and served in that role from 2003 through 2010.[25] In 2004, he served as the interim manager of Lynchburg whenJay Loviglio resigned from the position for personal reasons.[26] Banister became the interimpitching coach for Lynchburg in 2008 whenBob Milacki resigned from the position. Mike Steele then took the job from Banister in 2009. Banister managed theScottsdale Scorpions of theArizona Fall League (AFL) in 2009.[17]
On August 8, 2010, Banister was named the Pirates' interim bench coach afterGary Varsho was fired by the organization.[27] At the end of the 2010 season, the Pirates fired managerJohn Russell. Banister andClint Hurdle were the two finalists for the position.[28] The Pirates named Hurdle as their manager,[29] and Banister was named their full-time bench coach.[30] As the Pirates bench coach, Banister learned aboutsabermetrics from aquantitative analyst who traveled with the team. Banister learned to use quantitative data to inform his decisions on when the Pirates should employdefensive shifts in the field.[31][32] He was initially chosen to manage Scottsdale in the AFL after the 2014 season, but he was replaced by Pirates' special assistantFrank Kremblas due to the possibility of the Pirates reaching theMLB postseason.[33]
After the 2014 season, Banister interviewed with theHouston Astros as a candidate to fill their managing vacancy, following the firing ofBo Porter.[21] The Astros instead hiredA. J. Hinch.[34] He also interviewed with theTexas Rangers, and was a finalist for the position along with Rangers' interim managerTim Bogar and pitching coachMike Maddux.[35] On October 16, 2014, the Rangers named Banister their new manager. He signed a three-year contract with anoption for a fourth season.[36][37]Jon Daniels, the Rangers'general manager, indicated that Banister will help the Rangers to incorporate analytics into their baseball decisions.[31]
As Banister and Daniels began to discuss the coaching staff for the 2015 season, it was decided that Bogar, who had a 14–8 record (.636 winning percentage) afterRon Washington's resignation, would not return to the Rangers under Banister.[38] Banister retained Maddux and hitting coachDave Magadan on his coaching staff, but third base coachGary Pettis left for the Astros and first base coachBengie Molina did not return to the team in that role.[39] Banister guided the Rangers to theAmerican League West division championship[40] with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses.[41] The Rangers would end up losing to theToronto Blue Jays in theAmerican League Division Series.[42] Banister was named theAmerican League Manager of the Year after the season.[43]
During the 2015–16 offseason, the Rangers extended Banister's contract through the 2018 season, with an option for the 2019 season, while also releasing pitching coachMike Maddux and hitting coachDave Magadan.[44] Bannister later hiredDoug Brocail as the new pitching coach andAnthony Iapoce as the new hitting coach.[45]
On September 21, 2018, following several days of speculation and rumors about Banister's future with the Rangers, Banister was fired following a surprise meeting with the Rangers management.[46] He finished with a record of 325 wins and 313 losses in 638 games.[41] On January 6, 2019, the Pirates hired Banister as a special assistant in baseball operations.[47] In June 2020, Banister and 14 others were laid off by the Pirates as they restructured their front office.[48]
On November 2, 2021, Banister was hired by theArizona Diamondbacks to be the team's bench coach for the 2022 season.[49]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| TEX | 2015 | 162 | 88 | 74 | .543 | 1st in AL West | 2 | 3 | .400 | LostALDS (TOR) |
| TEX | 2016 | 162 | 95 | 67 | .586 | 1st in AL West | 0 | 3 | .000 | LostALDS (TOR) |
| TEX | 2017 | 162 | 78 | 84 | .481 | 4th in AL West | – | – | – | |
| TEX | 2018 | 152 | 64 | 88 | .421 | 5th in AL West | – | – | – | |
| Total | 638 | 325 | 313 | .509 | 2 | 6 | .250 | |||
Banister was born on January 15, 1964.[6] He is originally fromWeatherford, Oklahoma. At the age of six, the Banisters moved from Weatherford to La Marque. His father, Bob, coached Jeff at La Marque High School on both the football and basketball teams. His mother, Verda, was an algebra teacher at La Marque. He has a sister, Carey.[6] In 1988, his father died at the age of 48 due to aheart attack.[6] His grandfather died of a heart attack three weeks later.[50]
Banister met his wife, Karen, while they were students at the University of Houston. Karen worked as a teacher atClear Lake High School in Houston.[6] The Banisters have two children: Alexandra and Jacob. Alexandra is a college volleyball player.[51] The Banisters reside inKeller, Texas.[52]
Banister won the inauguralGilda Radner Courage Award.[53] In 2011, Banister won the "Pride of the Pirates" award for demonstrating his "sportsmanship, dedication and outstanding character".[54]
· Baseball Almanac| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Welland Pirates Manager 1994 | Succeeded by Last |
| Preceded by | Augusta GreenJackets Manager 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lynchburg Hillcats Manager 1996–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Carolina Mudcats Manager 1997–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Pittsburgh Pirates Bench Coach 2010–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Texas Rangers Manager 2015–2018 | Succeeded by |
