| Dave Magadan | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Magadan with theTexas Rangers in 2014 | |
| Third baseman /First baseman | |
| Born: (1962-09-30)September 30, 1962 (age 63) Tampa, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 7, 1986, for the New York Mets | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 26, 2001, for the San Diego Padres | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .288 |
| Home runs | 42 |
| Runs batted in | 495 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As player
As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
David Joseph Magadan (born September 30, 1962) is an American former professionalbaseball player andcoach. He retired as an MLB player after a 16-year career as an above average hitting first andthird baseman. He is the cousin and godson of former managerLou Piniella; Piniella was also Magadan's manager during his stint with theSeattle Mariners in 1993.[1][2]
Magadan was listed at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), 245 lb (111 kg), batted from the left side, and threw from the right. While a 17-year-old senior atJesuit High School of Tampa, Magadan was selected by theBoston Red Sox in the twelfth round of the1980 Major League Baseball draft, but elected not to sign. His status as a prospect improved after he led West Tampa Memorial Post No. 248 to a win against a team fromRichmond, Virginia, in theAmerican Legion World Series and was named seriesMost Valuable Player. He also received the George W. Rulon American Legion Baseball Player of the Year award.[3]
After high school, Magadan attended theUniversity of Alabama inTuscaloosa, where, in 1983, his .525batting average led the entireNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), while setting aSoutheastern Conference (SEC) record, and is still the fifth best in NCAA history.
At the College World Series in1983,Alabama defeatedMichigan andArizona State twice, but lost toTexas twice. Magadan was named the All-Tournament Team'sfirst baseman, and also was selected as an AP All-American, was named the startingdesignated hitter onThe Sporting News's collegeAll-America team, received College Player of the Year honors fromBaseball America and wonUSA Baseball'sGolden Spikes Award as the bestamateur baseball player. His .439 career batting average is the SEC record and tenth best in NCAA history. Magadan was selected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Following his breakthrough season at Alabama, Magadan was selected by theNew York Mets with the 32nd overall pick of the1983 Major League Baseball draft, early in the second round. He was assigned to theSouth Atlantic League'sColumbia Mets, with whom he batted .336 with threehome runs.
Magadan did not hit any home runs his next two seasons, and did not display power as a prospect, but consistently hit for a high batting average and displayed excellent plate discipline, with a low strikeout rate and twice as many walks as strikeouts. He advanced steadily through the system, and was a September call-up for the1986 championship squad.
Magadan made his major league debut on September 7, 1986, pinch hitting forKevin Elster, and hit adouble in his first MLB at-bat.[4] He won the hearts of Mets fans in his first major league start on September 17, by hitting threesingles, and reaching on anerror in his four at-bats, and collecting twoRBIs in the Mets'National League Eastern division clincher.[5] For the season, Magadan went eight for eighteen for a .444 batting average. Although he arrived too late in the 1986 season to join their postseason roster for theirWorld Series championship run, he was given a World Series ring in 1995 for this, nine years after the series.[6]
Blocked at third base byHoward Johnson and at first byKeith Hernandez, Magadan still found his way into the lineup on a semi-regular basis in1987 and1988. He hit his first major league home run April 20, 1987. He provided a quality bat in late-inning situations and a capable spot starter whenever a regular needed a day off. ManagerDavey Johnson even went so far as to move Johnson toshortstop for 30 games a year, just to get Magadan more playing time. Magadan became the Mets' regular first baseman in 1989 when injuries limited Hernandez to 75 games and a .233 batting average. Contrary to early reports of a mediocre glove, Magadan proved himself to be adequate at first, though certainly not in Hernandez' class.
Hernandez's contract expired after the season, and the Mets opted not to offer him a contract for the1990 season. However, instead of giving the starting job to Magadan, the Mets tradedJuan Samuel to theLos Angeles Dodgers and receivedMike Marshall in return, with the intent of starting him at first.[7] Marshall batted only .239 for the Mets, and had lost his starting job to Magadan by the time he was dealt to theBoston Red Sox on July 27. Magadan batted .328, which ranked third in the league, and his .417on-base percentage was good for second place. He also ranked eighth inwalks and fifth insacrifice flies, and even drew four points in MVP voting.
Magadan entered the1991 season as the starting first baseman for the Mets, but his numbers went down significantly. He only managed to bat .258 for the season, with 108 hits, and missed most of the last two months of the season with shoulder injuries. The Mets once again went outside the organization to bring in a first baseman in the off season and brought inEddie Murray, another former Dodger and eventual Hall of Famer, to fill the role. This time, Magadan stayed in the lineup as he was moved to third base permanently while Howard Johnson was moved to the outfield. He was limited again by injuries to 99 games but managed a .283 average.
Magadan signed a two-year contract with the expansionFlorida Marlins on December 8, 1992,[8] and was in the starting line-up for their inaugural season opener, going 1-for-4 in the Marlins' 6-3 victory over the Dodgers on April 5, 1993.[9] In late June, he was traded to theSeattle Mariners forHenry Cotto andJeff Darwin.[1][2] For the season Magadan's average was .273, as he recorded the most hits he'd had since his breakout 1990 season with 124. He also stayed relatively healthy when compared to the previous two seasons, playing in 137 games. He also became part of a historic moment on September 22, as the Mariners played host to theTexas Rangers inside theKingdome. In the first inning, with the Mariners leading 5-0, he stepped in againstNolan Ryan. While Magadan was batting, Ryan suffered a torn ligament in his pitching elbow and had to be removed from the game; as Ryan had already announced he would be retiring following the season, Magadan proved to be the last MLB batter that Ryan faced.[10][11]
After the season, the Mariners traded Magadan back to Florida in exchange for Jeff Darwin, one of the players they traded to acquire him.[12] He played in only 74 games for the Marlins in1994 and became a free agent after the season.
Taking a pay cut, Magadan agreed to terms with theHouston Astros on a one-year deal for 1995.[13] Magadan found himself once again with a starting job inHouston, batting .313 as their regular third baseman. Still, the Astros chose not to re-sign Magadan at the end of the 1995 season, choosing instead to acquireSean Berry from theMontreal Expos to play third.
Magadan signed with the Chicago Cubs in 1996. Injuries and a gold glove first baseman (Mark Grace) limited him to pinch hitting duties, and he batted only .254, and was used sparingly by managerJim Riggleman.
On January 24, 1997, Magadan signed a one-year deal with theOakland Athletics.[14] He made 328 plate appearances during the 1997 season, splitting his time fairly evenly between first, third, anddesignated hitter. He batted .303 with four home runs, and later re-signed with the A's on November 12, 1997.[15] While Magadan received far less playing time in 1998, he still emerged with a .321 batting average.
Magadan signed with theSan Diego Padres in 1999 to back up first and third base, and subsequently re-signed with the team for the 2000 and 2001 seasons.[16] He made his first career appearance as ashortstop for the Padres in 2000, and in 2001, he made his only appearance atsecond base.
| Seasons | Games | AB | PA | Runs | Hits | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | HBP | Avg. | Slg. | OBP | Fld% |
| 16 | 1582 | 4159 | 4963 | 516 | 1197 | 218 | 13 | 42 | 495 | 11 | 718 | 546 | 12 | .288 | .377 | .390 | .983 |
Magadan had a career .994fielding percentage at first base and .951 at third base.
After his retirement as a player, Magadan was hired by the Padres as their minor league hitting instructor in 2002, and was hired as the team's hitting coach in 2003. On June 15, 2006, with the Padres batting .252 as a team (last in the National League), Magadan was fired by Padres GMKevin Towers and replaced by former Padres hitting coachMerv Rettenmund. Their .322 inon-base percentage and .391slugging percentage was second to last to the Chicago Cubs.[17]
On October 20, 2006, Magadan was named hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox.[18] In his first season on the job, Magadan's Red Sox would go on to see great improvements in batting average (.269 to .279), slugging percentage (.435 to .444) and on-base percentage (.351 to .362), and led theAmerican League with 689 walks.[18] In 2007, Boston would finally end their archrivalNew York Yankees' nine-year run asAmerican League Eastern division champions, and went on to sweep theColorado Rockies in the2007 World Series. The team batted .333 in theWorld Series.
The Red Sox were among the league leaders in all batting categories again in 2008, leading the major leagues with a .358 on-base percentage and 646 walks, and ranking second in the American League in batting average (.280), runs (845), doubles (353), RBIs (807) and total bases (2,503), and finishing third in slugging percentage (.447).
Magadan was suspended for one game on June 26, 2009, for arguing balls and strikes withhome plateumpireBob Davidson on June 24.[19] While still making the post season as a wild card, the Red Sox saw a substantial dip in all categories in 2009, and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs against theLos Angeles Angels.
On October 19, 2012, Magadan was named hitting coach for theTexas Rangers.[20] He left the team after the 2015 season.[21]
On November 25, 2015, Magadan was hired as the hitting coach for theArizona Diamondbacks.[22] On October 1, 2018, the Diamondbacks mutually agreed to part ways with Magadan. Arizona was one of the worst-hitting teams in all of baseball with a .235 batting average for the 2018 season.[23]
During the 2018 winter meetings in Las Vegas, Magadan was hired to be the hitting coach for theColorado Rockies. On October 13, 2022, it was announced Magadan would not return for the 2023 season.[24]
| Preceded by | Boston Red Sox hitting coach 2007–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Texas Rangershitting coach 2013–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Arizona Diamondbackshitting coach 2016–2018 | Succeeded by |