Gene Tenace

Infobox MLB retired
name=Gene Tenace


position=Catcher / First baseman
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1946|10|10
Russellton, Pennsylvania
debutdate=May 29
debutyear=by|1969
debutteam=Oakland Athletics
finaldate=September 30
finalyear=by|1983
finalteam=Pittsburgh Pirates
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.241
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=201
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=653
teams=
* Oakland Athletics (by|1969-by|1976)
* San Diego Padres (by|1977-by|1980)
* St. Louis Cardinals (by|1981-by|1982)
* Pittsburgh Pirates (by|1983)
highlights=
* All-Star selection (1975)
* 4x World Series champion (1972, 1973, 1974, 1982)
* 1972 World Series MVP
* 1972 Babe Ruth Award

Fury Gene Tenace (pronEng|ˈtʰɛnɨs, born Fiore Gino Tennaci on October 10, 1946 in Russellton, Pennsylvania), is a former Major League Baseball player who was a catcher and first baseman in the 1970s and is currently the hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. He was a key part of the Oakland Athletics powerhouse that won 3 consecutive World Series from 1972 to 1974. He was the World Series Most Valuable Player in 1972, hitting 4 home runs.

Playing Career

Tenace was selected in baseball's first entry draft in 1965, being taken in the 20th round by the then Kansas City Athletics. Tenace made his major league debut in Oakland during the by|1969 season, playing his first two years as the third-string catcher before serving as Dave Duncan's backup in by|1971.

Tenace entered the by|1972 season backing up Duncan, but became the team's regular catcher in the postseason. He put himself in the spotlight during Game 1 of the 1972 World Series, when he became the first player to homer in his first two World Series at bats. He went 8 for 23 in the Series, with 4 home runs, to earn the World Series MVP Award.

Tenace's heroics helped him earn a full-time job in Oakland's lineup. He served as the team's starting first baseman for 2 seasons, while still serving as the backup catcher to Ray Fosse. He had his roles reversed in by|1975, starting at catcher while backing up first base. As a regular starter for the A's, Tenace had a low batting average but a fair amount of power, hitting 20 home runs in 4 consecutive years in Oakland, finishing among the top 10 home run hitters in the American League each year. He further made up for his lack of a high batting average by sporting a tremendous batting eye. He drew over 100 walks in a season three times for Oakland, and led the AL in walks in 1974, making up for a career-low .211 average that year. Statistically, his best year with Oakland was in 1975, when he hit a career-best 29 home runs and drove in 83 runs, drew 106 walks, finished 18th in the MVP voting and started in his only All-Star Game.

Tenace was one of several Athletics who became free agents after the 1976 season and participated in a newly created re-entry draft, in which teams acquired the rights to negotiate with veteran free agents. Tenace and teammate Rollie Fingers were the first players from that draft to sign, with both joining the San Diego Padres in December of that year. In 4 years as a starter with the Padres, his power numbers dropped in part due to the cavernous dimensions of San Diego Stadium, only reaching 20 home runs once; but his batting eye remained, recording 3 more seasons of 100 walks, with a career best of 125 in 1977. He recorded an on base percentage of over .390 in each of his years in San Diego, and finished 3rd in the National League in that department in 3 consecutive years.

After the 1980 season, Tenace, Fingers, and two others joined the St. Louis Cardinals in a trade for Terry Kennedy and six minor leaguers (Fingers was then traded to the Milwaukee Brewers four days later). In his two years in St. Louis, Tenace primarily played against left-handed pitchers, platooning with Darrell Porter. He was a member of the Cardinals team that won the 1982 World Series.

He played his final season as a pinch-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1983, and retired after being released the following year in spring training.

He retired with a .241 average and 201 home runs, but had a fine on-base percentage of .388, among the best for players during his era. Less than half of his career trips to first base came via base hits, reaching 1,075 times through walks (984) and being hit by pitches (91) as opposed to only 1,060 hits.

Coaching Career

Tenace became a coach after retiring as a player. At the Major League level, he coached with the Houston Astros in 1986 and 1987, [cite web|url=http://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/history/coaches.jsp|title=The Official Site of the Houston Astros: History: Astros All-Time Coaches|accessdate=2007-05-26|publisher=Major League Baseball] and coached with the Toronto Blue Jays from 1990 to 1997. [cite web|url=http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/history/coaches.jsp|title=The Official Site of the Toronto Blue Jays: History: Blue Jays All-Time Coaches|accessdate=2007-05-26|publisher=Major League Baseball] When manager Cito Gaston was sidelined with a herniated disc in 1991, Tenace served as the team's interim manager, [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE4DD1E3FF931A1575BC0A967958260|title=Jays' Manager is Hospitalized|accessdate=2007-05-26|date=1991-08-22|publisher=The New York Times] going 19-14 and keeping Toronto competitive en route to an eventual division title. He was part of Toronto's World Series winning teams in 1992 and 1993, giving him 6 rings in 6 World Series appearances as a player and a coach. He has also served as a hitting instructor for the St. Louis Cardinals organization. [cite press release|url=http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20061213&content_id=1760464&vkey=pr_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl|title=Cardinals make staff additions and promotions at minor league and scouting levels|publisher=St. Louis Cardinals|accessdate=2007-05-26|date=2006-12-12]

He was re-hired by the Blue Jays on June 20th, 2008 when manager John Gibbons and his staff were fired. Tenace replaced hitting coach Gary Denbo.

Trivia

* Prior to Game Six of the 1972 World Series, Tenace was the subject of a death threat. Before the game, a man was arrested outside the stadium with a gun. [http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/tenacge01.php]

* Tenace did a voice cameo in an episode of "The Simpsons" entitled "Regarding Margie".

* Tenace has won six world series. Four of them as a player and two as a coach.

ee also

* Top 500 home run hitters of all time
* Oakland Athletics
* World Series MVP

References

External links

*baseball-reference|id=t/tenacge01
* [http://members.tripod.com/bb_catchers/catchers/tenace.htm Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers Entry]
* [http://baseballevolution.com/halloffame/tenaceg.html Baseball Evolution Hall of Fame] - Player Profile