John Wathan - Misplaced Pages

American baseball player and manager (born 1949)

Baseball player

John Wathan

Catcher / Manager
Born: (1949-10-04) October 4, 1949 (age 75) Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.
Batted: RightThrew: Right
MLB debut
May 26, 1976, for the Kansas City Royals
Last MLB appearance
October 6, 1985, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
Batting average	.262
Home runs	21
Runs batted in	261
Managerial record	326–320
Winning %	.505
Stats at Baseball Reference

Teams
As player Kansas City Royals (1976–1985) As manager Kansas City Royals (1987–1991) California Angels (1992)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1985)

John David Wathan (/ˈwɒθən/; born October 4, 1949) is an American former professional baseball catcher, manager, and coach. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals from 1976 to 1985. Wathan was a member of the world champion 1985 Kansas City Royals team.

After his playing career, he worked as a coach before serving as the Royals manager from 1987 to 1991. He also managed the California Angels in 1992. Wathan is notable for setting the single-season stolen base record for catchers in 1982 when, he stole 36 bases to break the previous record set by Ray Schalk in 1916.

Baseball career

Wathan, nicknamed "The Duke" for his dead-on impersonations of John Wayne, was drafted in the first round, fourth overall in the 1971 MLB Draft from the University of San Diego, where he played college baseball for the Toreros in 1968–70.

Wathan played ten seasons with the Royals from 1976 to 1985 where he played in 860 games, averaging a career .262 batting average with 21 home runs, 261 RBIs, and 105 stolen bases. Wathan had his best season in 1980 in which he played in 126 games, and had a .305 batting average with 6 home runs and 58 RBI.

After he retired, Wathan coached for the Royals in 1986 before becoming the manager of Kansas City's AAA Omaha Royals farm club. He was promoted to manager for the big-league Royals on August 28, 1987. He managed five seasons in Kansas City, having two winning seasons in 1988 and 1989 and finishing second in the American League West both times. He was fired early in the 1991 season after a 15–22 start.

In 1992, Wathan began the season as the third-base coach of the California Angels, but he was named acting manager midway through the campaign when Buck Rodgers was badly hurt in a bus accident and took a medical leave of absence. Wathan led the Angels to a 39–50 record until Rodgers was well enough to return. He spent 1994 as a Boston Red Sox coach, worked as a color analyst on Royals telecasts in 1996 and 1997, and has worked as a scout and minor league instructor for a number of organizations since. In 2006-07, Wathan was a roving baserunning and bunting instructor in Kansas City's farm system, and in 2008 he served the Royals as a special assistant to the director of player development.

Two of John's sons, Derek and Dusty, played professional baseball. Derek played minor league baseball from 1998 to 2008, while Dusty played briefly for the Royals in 2002 and is the current third-base coach of the Philadelphia Phillies.

References

"John Wathan Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
A catcher with the soul of a thief
Royals' Wathan out with ankle injury
"University of San Diego Baseball Players Who Made it to a Major League Baseball Team". Baseball-Almanac.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
Royals fire John Wathan

External links

Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
John Wathan at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
The 100 Greatest Royals of All-Time- #41 John Wathan

v t e Kansas City Royals managers
Joe Gordon (1969) Charlie Metro (1970) Bob Lemon (1970–1972) Jack McKeon (1973–1975) Whitey Herzog (1975–1979) Jim Frey (1980–1981) Dick Howser (1981–1986) Mike Ferraro (1986) Billy Gardner (1987) John Wathan (1987–1991) Bob Schaefer (1991) Hal McRae (1991–1994) Bob Boone (1995–1997) Tony Muser (1997–2002) John Mizerock (2002) Tony Peña (2002–2005) Bob Schaefer (2005) Buddy Bell (2005–2007) Trey Hillman (2008–2010) Ned Yost (2010–2019) Mike Matheny (2020–2022) Matt Quatraro (2023–present)

Kansas City Royals managers

Joe Gordon (1969)
Charlie Metro (1970)
Bob Lemon (1970–1972)
Jack McKeon (1973–1975)
Whitey Herzog (1975–1979)
Jim Frey (1980–1981)
Dick Howser (1981–1986)
Mike Ferraro (1986)
Billy Gardner (1987)
John Wathan (1987–1991)
Bob Schaefer (1991)
Hal McRae (1991–1994)
Bob Boone (1995–1997)
Tony Muser (1997–2002)
John Mizerock (2002)
Tony Peña (2002–2005)
Bob Schaefer (2005)
Buddy Bell (2005–2007)
Trey Hillman (2008–2010)
Ned Yost (2010–2019)
Mike Matheny (2020–2022)
Matt Quatraro (2023–present)

v t e Los Angeles Angels managers
Bill Rigney (1961–1969) Lefty Phillips (1969–1971) Del Rice (1972) Bobby Winkles (1973–1974) Whitey Herzog (1974) Dick Williams (1974–1976) Norm Sherry (1976–1977) Dave Garcia (1977–1978) Jim Fregosi (1978–1981) Gene Mauch (1981–1982) John McNamara (1983–1984) Gene Mauch (1985–1987) Cookie Rojas (1988) Moose Stubing (1988) Doug Rader (1989–1991) Buck Rodgers (1991–1992) Marcel Lachemann (1992) John Wathan (1992) Buck Rodgers (1993–1994) Marcel Lachemann (1994–1996) John McNamara (1996) Joe Maddon (1996) Terry Collins (1997–1999) Joe Maddon (1999) Mike Scioscia (2000–2018) Brad Ausmus (2019) Joe Maddon (2020–2022) Phil Nevin (2022–2023) Ron Washington (2024–present)

Los Angeles Angels managers

Bill Rigney (1961–1969)
Lefty Phillips (1969–1971)
Del Rice (1972)
Bobby Winkles (1973–1974)
Whitey Herzog (1974)
Dick Williams (1974–1976)
Norm Sherry (1976–1977)
Dave Garcia (1977–1978)
Jim Fregosi (1978–1981)
Gene Mauch (1981–1982)
John McNamara (1983–1984)
Gene Mauch (1985–1987)
Cookie Rojas (1988)
Moose Stubing (1988)
Doug Rader (1989–1991)
Buck Rodgers (1991–1992)
Marcel Lachemann (1992)
John Wathan (1992)
Buck Rodgers (1993–1994)
Marcel Lachemann (1994–1996)
John McNamara (1996)
Joe Maddon (1996)
Terry Collins (1997–1999)
Joe Maddon (1999)
Mike Scioscia (2000–2018)
Brad Ausmus (2019)
Joe Maddon (2020–2022)
Phil Nevin (2022–2023)
Ron Washington (2024–present)

v t e Kansas City Royals 1985 World Series champions
1 Buddy Biancalana 2 Onix Concepción 3 Jorge Orta 4 Greg Pryor 5 George Brett (ALCS MVP) 6 Willie Wilson 8 Jim Sundberg 9 Dane Iorg 11 Hal McRae 12 John Wathan 15 Pat Sheridan 18 Jamie Quirk 20 Frank White 21 Lonnie Smith 23 Mark Gubicza 24 Darryl Motley 25 Danny Jackson 26 Steve Farr 27 Joe Beckwith 29 Dan Quisenberry 31 Bret Saberhagen (AL CYA & World Series MVP) 35 Lynn Jones 37 Charlie Leibrandt 40 Bud Black 45 Steve Balboni
Manager 10 Dick Howser Coaches 14 Lee May 41 Mike Ferraro 42 José Martínez 43 Gary Blaylock 44 Jimmie Schaffer
Regular season American League Championship Series Cardinals–Royals rivalry

Kansas City Royals 1985 World Series champions

5 George Brett (ALCS MVP)

6 Willie Wilson

8 Jim Sundberg

9 Dane Iorg

11 Hal McRae

12 John Wathan

15 Pat Sheridan