Timothy Shawn Teufel (born July 7, 1958) is an American former professionalbaseballsecond baseman andcoach. He playedMajor League Baseball from1983 to1993, most notably as a member of theNew York Mets with whom he won a world championship in1986. He also played for theMinnesota Twins and theSan Diego Padres. He is a member of the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame. He was a fan favorite with the New York Mets and became known for his batting stance, the "Teufel shuffle", in which he wiggled his buttocks back and forth before thepitcher's delivery.

Tim Teufel
Teufel as the New York Mets third base coach
Second baseman
Born: (1958-07-07)July 7, 1958 (age 66) Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 3, 1983, for the Minnesota Twins
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 1993, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics
Batting average	.254
Home runs	86
Runs batted in	379
Stats atBaseball Reference
Teams
Minnesota Twins (1983–1985) New York Mets (1986–1991) San Diego Padres (1991–1993) As Coach New York Mets (2011–2016)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1986)

Teufel attended St. Mary's High School inGreenwich, Connecticut, St. Petersburg Junior College inSt. Petersburg, Florida, andClemson University inSouth Carolina. At Clemson, he earned All American honors and participated in theCollege World Series as a senior in 1980.

In 1979, Teufel playedcollegiate summer baseball for theCotuit Kettleers of theCape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). He batted .351 and set league records forhome runs,runs batted in, andruns scored in a season. Teufel was inducted into theCCBL Hall of Fame in 2005.^[1]

At age 19, he was drafted by theMilwaukee Brewers in the sixteenth round of the1978 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign. Teufel was drafted by theChicago White Sox in the third round of the secondary phase of the1979 Major League Baseball Draft, but again did not sign. In the1980 Major League Baseball Draft, Teufel was drafted in the second round and signed with theMinnesota Twins.

Teufel spent all of1980 and1981 with the Double-AOrlando Twins. He raised his average to .282 in1982, earning a mid-season promotion to the Triple-AToledo Mud Hens. In1983, Teufel lit up theInternational League with a .323batting average, 1.022OPS, 27 home runs and 100 runs batted in, resulting in a September call-up to the majors. He made his major league debut on September 3 in a 13-0 drubbing at the hands ofScott McGregor and theBaltimore Orioles.^[2]

Teufel went 2-for-4 and score two runs to help the last-place Twins snap a five-game losing streak on September 6.^[3] On September 16, Teufel led off the game by hitting his first major league home run offJim Gott of theToronto Blue Jays.^[4] His second career home run came in the eighth inning of the same game. In all, Teufel went 5-for-5 with two home runs and five runs scored in arguably the best offensive game of his career.^[5] By the end of the season, the Twins surpassed theSeattle Mariners to avoid a last-place finish.

The following season, Teufel snatched the starting second base job away from formerRookie of the Year,John Castino. In hisrookie season, Teufel had 149hits, 30doubles, fourteen home runs, 61 runs batted in, and provided solid defense at second base for the Twins. The Twins improved to 81–81 in1984, which was good enough for a second-place finish in theAmerican League West. Teufel finished fourth behindAlvin Davis,Mark Langston and teammateKirby Puckett inAmerican League Rookie of the Year balloting.

The Twins fell back into fifth place in1985. Following the season, Teufel was traded with minor leaguer Pat Crosby to the New York Mets forBilly Beane,Bill Latham andJoe Klink.^[6]

Although Teufel had hit far better againstright-handed pitchers in 1985, MetsmanagerDavey Johnson used Teufel primarily againstleft-handed pitching in aplatoon system withWally Backman. Teufel started quickly in1986 with a go-ahead 14th inningsingle in his first game with the Mets, although they lost in the bottom half of the inning. His batting average hovered around .220 into June. On June 10, Teufel had one of the most exciting moments in the Mets' championship season with awalk-offpinch-hitgrand slam in the bottom of the 11th inning against thePhiladelphia Phillies.

The Mets' reputation as a rowdy bunch was punctuated on July 19 when Teufel,Ron Darling,Bob Ojeda, andRick Aguilera were arrested after a bar fight with off-duty police officers inHouston, Texas. Teufel was sentenced to a year of probation and fined $200 for his part.^[7] None of the four missed any playing time, though the incident helped fuel some rivalry between the Mets and their impending1986 National League Championship Series competitors, theHouston Astros. Teufel managed just one hit and no runs batted in against the Astros in the Championship Series, won by the Mets in six games.^[8]

In game one of the 1986 World Series against theBoston Red Sox, the Mets suffered a fate similar to that which they suffered in game one of the1973 World Series against theOakland Athletics. In that game, usually sure-handed Mets' second basemanFélix Millán committed a thirdinningerror that led to both of Oakland's runs in their 2–1 victory.^[9] With one out and a runner on second in the seventh inning of game one of the 1986 series, Boston'sRich Gedman hit a ground ball to Teufel at second which Teufel misplayed, allowing the runner to score. Boston held on for the 1–0 victory.^[10]

He hit a home run in game five of the Series, but the Mets lost that game.^[11] For the series, Teufel batted .444 with four hits in nine at bats. The home run was the only postseason run batted in and run scored of Teufel's career.

1987 was Teufel's best season statistically, as he tied his 1984 home run and run batted in highs despite playing in only 97 games. His .308 batting average, .398on-base percentage and .545slugging percentage were career-highs. Despite significantly outperforming Wally Backman, Teufel continued to be used in a platoon role. He was given the chance to play every day in1988, but spent all of April below .200 and missed three weeks from mid-May with an injury, causing the platoon to be reinstated.

Teufel was used in just one game in the1988 NLCS. In1989,Gregg Jefferies was given most of the time at second base and Teufel spent half of his time atfirst base. His playing time further decreased in1990 as he played in career-lows of 80 games with 175 at-bats while shifting between first, second andthird base.

Teufel's1991 average was .118 on May 31 when the Mets traded him to theSan Diego Padres forGarry Templeton.^[12] Teufel hit between .220 and .250 in all three seasons with San Diego while continuing to play at all three bases defensively. On April 14,1993, he went 5-for-5 for the second time in his career but the Padres lost the game on their way to a 101-loss season.^[13] Teufel was grantedfree agency and retired after the 1993 season.

Teufel returned to the Mets as a roving instructor for2001 and2002. He was named themanager of the Mets' Rookie-levelminor leagueBrooklyn Cyclones for2003 and was promoted to the Single-ASt. Lucie Mets for2004 and2005.^[14][15]After the two seasons near .500, the Mets announced Teufel was being replaced byGary Carter for2006. Teufel decided to take a break from baseball for the year.^[16]

He was named manager of theSavannah Sand Gnats on January 11,2007 and was a Mets representative at the2008 Major League Baseball Draft.^[17][18] He returned as St. Lucie's manager in 2008 and 2009. In 2010, in his first season managing the Double-ABinghamton Mets, he led the team to a 66–76 record and a fifth-place finish in the Eastern League.^[19] He was named manager of theBuffalo Bisons in January 2011.^[20] In 2011, he was named manager ofLeones del Caracas in theVenezuelan Professional Baseball League. On November 16, 2011, he was replaced as manager by Carlos Lezcano.^[21]

Teufel returned to theNew York Mets organization as the new third base coach in 2011, replacing former coachChip Hale.^[22]Teufel had a successful stint for five years as the third base coach, participating in the 2015 World Series and was a part of winning the 2015 National League East title, their first division title since 2006, and first World Series appearance since 2000. He coached in the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Diego at Petco Park. After the 2016 season, it was announced that Teufel would be replaced by longtimeArizona Diamondbacks coachGlenn Sherlock. On November 25, 2016 it was announced that he would be the minor league instructor and club ambassador.^[23] Following the 2022 season, Teufel and the Mets parted ways from an employment standpoint but he remains connected to the organization for appearances and representing the organization.^[24]

• Career statistics fromMLB, orESPN, orBaseball Reference, orFangraphs, orBaseball Reference (Minors), orRetrosheet , orThe Ultimate Mets Database, orTim Teufel - Baseballbiography.com