| Bill Rigney | |
|---|---|
 Rigney in 1953 | |
| Infielder /Manager | |
| Born:(1918-01-29)January 29, 1918 Alameda, California, U.S. | |
| Died: February 20, 2001(2001-02-20) (aged 83) Walnut Creek, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 16, 1946, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 12, 1953, for the New York Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .259 |
| Home runs | 41 |
| Runs batted in | 212 |
| Managerial record | 1,239–1,321 |
| Winning % | .484 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager
As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
William Joseph Rigney (January 29, 1918 – February 20, 2001) was an American professionalinfielder andmanager inMajor League Baseball (MLB). A 26-year veteran in the major leagues, Rigney played for theNew York Giants from1946 to1953, then spent 18 seasons as the skipper of three major-league clubs. TheSan Francisco Bay Area native began his managerial career with the Giants and served as the team's last manager inNew York City (1957). In1961, Rigney became the first manager in the history of theLos Angeles Angels of theAmerican League, serving until May of1969. Then, in1970, he managed theMinnesota Twins to theAmerican League West Division championship, the only postseason entry of his big-league tenure. Fired midseason in1972, he concluded his managerial career in1976 by serving a one-year term at the helm of his original team, the Giants.
Born inAlameda, California,[1] Rigney batted and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 178 pounds (81 kg). He began hisprofessional baseball career in 1938 when he signed with the unaffiliatedOakland Oaks of the top-levelPacific Coast League. After seasoning in the Class BWestern International League, Rigney played the full seasons of 1941 and 1942 with the Oaks, then performed World War II service in theUnited States Coast Guard from 1943–1945.
Acquired by the Giants during the war, he was a 28-year-oldrookie in1946 and playedthird base,shortstop andsecond base during his MLB career—appearing in over 100games played in each of his first four MLB seasons. Rigney was the Giants' regular third baseman in1946 and their starting second baseman in both1947 and1948. His most productive season came in 1947, when he reached career highs inhome runs (17),runs batted in (59),runs (84),hits (142),doubles (24) and games played (130). In 1948, he was selected to theNational LeagueAll-Star team; in the1948 midsummer classic, on July 13 atSportsman's Park,St. Louis, he drew abase on balls offJoe Coleman in his onlyplate appearance.
On August 12, 1950, Rigney replacedEddie Stanky at second base after Stanky had been ejected from a game against the Phillies for repeatedly waving his arms whileAndy Seminick was batting. Seminick was still irritated, and after he reached base on anerror in the fourth inning, he slid hard into second base, crashing into Rigney and causing him to fall over. A nearly ten-minute brawl erupted between the teams, which required police intervention and resulted in the ejection of Seminick and Rigney from the game. The Phillies went on to win 4–3.[2][3]
As autility infielder, Rigney was a member of the1951 NL champion Giants, and he appeared in four games of the1951 World Series, collecting one hit in fourat bats (asingle offVic Raschi), with one run batted in, as apinch hitter.
As a big-leaguer, Rigney was a .259 careerbatsman with 510 hits, 41 home runs and 212 runs batted in over 654 games.
Following his MLB playing career, Rigney was named manager of the Giants' topfarm club, theTriple-AMinneapolis Millers, in 1954–1955. He led the Millers to two playoff appearances, a 170–135 overall record, and the 1955American Association andJunior World Series championships. He then was promoted to skipper of the parent Giants in1956, succeeding his mentor,Leo Durocher. Despite the presence of Hall of Famecenter fielderWillie Mays, the Giants' final two seasons inUpper Manhattan, 1956 and 1957, were dismal: they lost 87 and 85 games, respectively, finished in sixth place in the eight-team National League both years (a combined 52 games out of first place), and their attendance fell below 700,000.
But upon their move to San Francisco in 1958—and rejuvenated by young players such asOrlando Cepeda,Jim Davenport,Felipe Alou, and, later,Willie McCovey—the Giants returned to thefirst division and contended for the NL pennant into the final regular-season weekend in1959. The1960 Giants moved into newCandlestick Park and were expected to again contend for the league title. They got off the mark quickly, winning 20 of their first 29 games. But then they stumbled, losing 16 of their next 29, and were coming off a three-game series sweep at home by the eventual world championPittsburgh Pirates when, on June 17, Rigney was fired. At 33–25, his club was in second place, four games behind Pittsburgh, when Rigney was dismissed.Tom Sheehan, the veteranscout who replaced Rigney, fared even more poorly, however, going only 46–50 as the Giants plummeted into fifth place by season's end.
Rigney was not unemployed for long. He became the first skipper in the history of theexpansionLos Angeles Angels of theAmerican League in1961.Gene Autry andRobert O. Reynolds, the Angels' owners, originally wanted to hire futureBaseball Hall of Fame managerCasey Stengel, a resident of nearbyGlendale who had been fired by theNew York Yankees after the1960 World Series. But Stengel declined all managerial offers and spent 1961 in temporary retirement. Then Durocher, out of uniform since leaving the Giants in 1955 and working as a broadcaster, campaigned for the Angel job. Like Stengel, he had become a permanent resident ofSouthern California—he lived inPalm Springs—and was a future Hall of Fame pilot. But Autry and Reynolds bypassed him and chose Rigney instead, believing that he would have the patience to develop an expansion team's younger players.
While the Angels' maiden edition lost 91 games and finished eighth in the ten-team AL, the1962 team, paced by youngpitchersDean Chance andBo Belinsky, stunned baseball by finishing in third place with an 86–76 record during their second season of existence. As a result, Rigney was namedManager of the Year byThe Sporting News.
During Rigney's eight full years with the Angels, the club played in three home ballparks—Wrigley Field,Dodger Stadium andAnaheim Stadium—and also compiled winning records in1964 and1967. But1969, Rigney's ninth season, proved catastrophic. The Angels started the year 11–28 and were mired in a ten-game losing streak when Rigney was fired on May 27 and succeeded byLefty Phillips. Later in 1969, Rigney joined the San Francisco Giants' radio broadcast team to close out the season; coincidentally,KSFO, the Giants flagship station, was then owned by Autry and Reynolds.
Returning to the field (and to theTwin Cities ofMinneapolis–St. Paul) the next year, Rigney succeededBilly Martin as manager of theMinnesota Twins in1970, leading them to 98 victories and theAmerican League West Division championship. But the Twins fell in three straight games to the eventual world championBaltimore Orioles in the1970 American League Championship Series, then won only 74 games in1971. When the Twins began1972 with a 36–34 record and 91⁄2 games behind the eventualWorld Series championOakland Athletics in third place, Rigney was replaced byFrank Quilici on July 6. Team ownerCalvin Griffith's explanation for the move was that he felt many of the Twins players "were too nonchalant."[4]
After serving as ascout for theSan Diego Padres and California Angels (1973–1974), Rigney had a second managerial stint with the Giants in1976, a year of transition between theHorace Stoneham andBob Lurie ownerships. Rigney's 1976 club went only 74–88 and finished 28 games behind the world championCincinnati Reds.Joe Altobelli succeeded him at the Giants' helm onOctober 7, 1976.[5] Rigney finished with a managerial record of 1,239 wins and 1,321 losses.[6]
| Team | From | To | Regular season record | Post–season record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | Win % | W | L | Win % | |||
| New York/San Francisco Giants | 1956 | 1960 | 332 | 342 | .493 | — | ||
| Los Angeles/California Angels | 1961 | 1969 | 625 | 707 | .469 | — | ||
| Minnesota Twins | 1970 | 1972 | 208 | 184 | .531 | 0 | 3 | .000 |
| San Francisco Giants | 1976 | 1976 | 74 | 88 | .457 | — | ||
| Total | 1239 | 1321 | .484 | 0 | 3 | .000 | ||
| Ref.:[6] | ||||||||
In an 18-season managerial career, Rigney posted a 1,239–1,321 record (.484) in 2,561 games. The Twins' three-and-out loss in the 1970 ALCS was his only MLB postseason managing appearance. As aminor league pilot, Rigney won the 1955American Association championship at the helm of the Minneapolis Millers.
After leaving the Giants at the close of his second managerial term in 1976, he served as a front-office consultant and a radio and television broadcaster for theOakland Athletics in the 1980s.
Rigney died inWalnut Creek, California, at age of 83.
The "Bill Rigney Good Guy Award" is given each year to a San Francisco Giant and Oakland Athletic who is most accommodating to the media.[7]
· Baseball Almanac| Preceded by | Minneapolis Millersmanager 1954–1955 | Succeeded by |
