Dana LeVangie

Dana LeVangie (born August 11, 1969) is a former baseball player. Listed at 5' 10", 185 lb., LeVangie batted and threw right-handed. He is currently a Major League Baseball scout for the Boston Red Sox.

Career

College

A native of Whitman, Massachusetts, LeVangie was a 14th-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 1991 out of American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. He had been a catcher on the AIC baseball team for two seasons from 1990-91 and provided a lasting mark on the program. As a senior, LeVangie hit a .462 batting average with 13 home runs and 75 runs batted in en route to garnering Division II All-America and Northeast-10 Player of the Year honors. That season, AIC went 32-12 and advanced to the Division II College World Series for the first time in school history. As of 2008, LeVangie holds the school record for career batting average with a .410 mark among players with at least 100 hits. ^[1]

Professional

After being signed by Boston, LeVangie languished in the minor leagues for five seasons. He eventually reached Triple-A Pawtucket in 1995, but never got a shot with the big team. He was a .201 hitter (193-for-960) with seven home runs and 74 RBI in 316 career games, including 76 runs, 25 doubles, three triples and five stolen bases. ^[2]

Following a surgery on his left hand, LeVangie was offered the job of bullpen catcher by minor league coordinator Bob Schaefer and was quick to accept it.

Highlights

LeVangie finally reached a Major League status with the Boston Red Sox in 1997, serving as the bullpen catcher for eight seasons, including the 2004 World Series Championship campaign. After the season, he joined the advanced coaching staff of the organization.^[3]

In September 2007, LeVangie was assigned to follow the Los Angeles Angels in anticipation of the postseason, and eventually saw the Colorado Rockies, too. During Game 2 of the 2007 World Series, Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills, armed with information assembled by the Sox scouting report, correctly anticipated that Matt Holliday would attempt to steal on Jonathan Papelbon's first pitch with two outs in the eighth inning and the Rockies down by a run. Mills signaled for a pickoff, and Papelbon, who had not picked off a runner since breaking into the majors, nailed Holliday with ease. Boston won the game and completed a four-game sweep of the Rockies in the Series. ^[4]

LeVangie is still employed as a scout with the Red Sox organization. Despite his low playing profile, he has established himself as a tireless contributor for two World Championship teams. ^[5] In addition, he gained induction Class of 2006 to the AIC Yellow Jackets Hall of Fame. ^[6]

References

1. ^ AIC Yellow Jackets career
2. ^ Minor League statistics
3. ^ Release point for LeVangie
4. ^ These details paying off
5. ^ Architects of a Dream
6. ^ AIC Yellow Jackets Hall of Fame

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Name	Levangie, Dana
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Date of birth	August 11, 1969
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