| John Mizerock | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mizerock with theRichmond Bravesc. 1987 | |
| Catcher /Coach | |
| Born: (1960-12-08)December 8, 1960 (age 64) Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 12, 1983, for the Houston Astros | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 1, 1989, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .186 |
| Home runs | 2 |
| Runs batted in | 24 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager As coach | |
John Joseph Mizerock (/ˈmɪzərɒk/; born December 8, 1960) is an American formerMajor League Baseball (MLB)catcher who played for theHouston Astros and theAtlanta Braves. He was the eighth overall pick in the1979 Major League Baseball Draft. He later served as a coach for theKansas City Royals andPhiladelphia Phillies. He is currently the hitting coach for theClearwater Threshers.
The Houston Astros drafted eighteen-year-old Mizerock straight out of Punxsutawney High School inPunxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He was the second of five catchers selected in the first round of the June1979 draft.[1] After four seasons in theirfarm system, in which hebatted .228 with eighteenhome runs (twelve of which were hit in1982) and 143runs batted in, Mizerock made the Astros out ofspring training1983 asAlan Ashby's back-up. He allowed threepassed balls in a game against theCincinnati Reds on April 19 to not only lose the back-up catcher job, but to also get himself sent back down to the minors. In fairness to Mizerock,knuckleballerJoe Niekro was pitching.[2]
After Ashby was lost for a month of the season with a viral infection in his ear,[3] Mizerock was called back up. However, he only appeared in four games during that span, and was optioned back down to the triple ATucson Toros upon Ashby's return. He was brought back up for a third time in mid-August, and remained on the major league roster through the end of the season. He had a second game with Niekro on the mound on August 31 in which he had two passed balls.[4] In all, Mizerock had eleven passed balls for the season; eight of which occurred with Niekro pitching.
After spending all of the1984 season with the double AColumbus Astros, he returned to Houston late in the1985 season to fill in for an injured Ashby. He was with the Astros on and off throughout their division winning1986 season, and was on their post-season roster, but did not make an appearance in the1986 National League Championship Series against theNew York Mets. He was released after the season.
Mizerock spent spring training1987 with theMontreal Expos,[5] but failed to make the club. Just as the season was set to begin, he signed with theAtlanta Braves. Mizerock batted .240 with eight home runs and 94 RBIs in three seasons with theRichmond Braves to earn a September call-up to Atlanta in1989. He batted .222 with two RBIs in eleven games. After one more season in the Braves' minor league system, Mizerock retired.
Since retiring as a player, Mizerock has served as a minor leaguemanager, acoach andinterim manager with theKansas City Royals. He is a two time winner of theDick Howser Award, awarded for outstanding contributions to the Royals organization (1996 and2007).[6]
Mizerock's first managerial job came with the rookie leagueEugene Emeralds in1993. After leading the team to a 40-36 record, he was promoted to the Class ARockford Royals in1994, where he earnedMidwest League Manager of the Year honors. Mizerock moved to theCarolina League'sWilmington Blue Rocks in1995, where he was again named his league's manager of the year. In 1996, Wilmington won the league championship with Mizerock at the helm. He remained with Wilmington through1997 before moving on to theWichita Wranglers in1998. Mizerock won theTexas League title and was Minor League Manager of the Year with Wichita in1999. He spent the2000 &2001 seasons with theOmaha Golden Spikes before getting his first major league coaching gig with the major league club in2002. He compiled 646 wins and 554 losses in his minor league managerial career.
Mizerock was promoted from bullpen coach to interim manager of the Royals 23 games into the season whenTony Muser was fired.[7] His first game managing was against theDetroit Tigers, who were being managed byLuis Pujols on an interim basis.[8] Pujols and Mizerock were teammates on the 1983 Houston Astros, competing for the back-up catcher job.
After losing their first six games under Mizerock, the Royals won five of their next seven before he was replaced byTony Peña.[9] In all, he led his team to a 5–8 record in thirteen games. 2002 was the first time in franchise history that Kansas City had lost 100 games. He stayed on as third base coach for the Royals until the end of2004, when he was assigned to be a roving instructor for the organization.[citation needed] He accepted a position to once again manage the high level Class A Wilmington Blue Rocks minor league team for the 2007 season. With his leadership, the team led the Carolina League in winning percentage, and returned to the playoffs.[citation needed]
On October 23, 2007, Mizerock was named the Royals' bullpen coach for the 2008 season.[10] His contract was not renewed following the2009 season.[11]
Mizerock moved to thePhiladelphia Phillies organization in2011 as hitting coach of theirFlorida State League affiliate, theClearwater Threshers.[12] He became theassistant hitting coach of thePhiladelphia Phillies on December 18, 2013,[13] and later[when?] became their third base coach. Mizerock was not retained by the Phillies following the 2015 season.[14] He later accepted a position as a coach for Philadelphia's Short Season-A team, theWilliamsport Crosscutters for the 2016 season.[15] Mizerock was named as the pitching coach for theClearwater Threshers of the 2018 season.
· Baseball Almanac