Dustin James Wathan (born August 22, 1973) is an American former professional catcher who played for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2002, and who is currently the third base coach for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a former manager of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Phillies in the International League.
Dusty Wathan | |
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![]() Wathan with the Phillies in 2019 | |
Philadelphia Phillies – No. 62 | |
Catcher/ Coach | |
Born: Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. | August 22, 1973|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 24, 2002, for the Kansas City Royals | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 29, 2002, for the Kansas City Royals | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .600 |
Home runs | 0 |
Runs batted in | 1 |
Teams | |
As player
As coach
|
Early life
editWathan was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, Missouri, and Cerritos College in Norwalk, California. In 1994, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[1]
Baseball career
editPlaying career
editWathan began his minor league playing career in 1994 with the AZL Mariners. In 2007, Wathan was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies organization and played for the Reading Phillies and Ottawa Lynx. He was the final out recorded in Lynx history, after grounding out to end the 2007 Lynx season which would go down as their final campaign. Wathan retired at the end of the 2007 season.
Wathan played 13 seasons in the minor leagues. In 3,216 at bats, he hit .273/.360/.382 with 58 home runs, 24 stolen bases, and 417 RBIs.[2] He played 831 games at catcher, 123 games at first base, five games at third base, and pitched in three games.[2]
In 2002, he played in three games in the major leagues at catcher for the Kansas City Royals, batting 3-for-5.[3]
Managerial and coaching career
editIn 2008, Wathan began his managerial career in the Phillies organization with the Williamsport Crosscutters of the Low–A New York–Penn League. He managed the Lakewood BlueClaws (Single–A South Atlantic League) in 2009 to win the league championship. From 2010 to 2011, he led the High–A Clearwater Threshers of the Florida State League. He managed the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League from 2012 to 2016.[4] On July 22, 2016, he became the winningest manager in team history.[5] Before the 2017 season, he was promoted to manage the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in the Triple–A International League.[6]
On November 10, 2017, Wathan was named the third base coach on new Phillies skipper Gabe Kapler's staff.[6] On October 27, 2022, the Phillies signed Wathan to a multi–year contract extension.[7]
Personal life
editHis father is former Major League Baseball player and manager John Wathan. His brother, Derek, played in minor league baseball from 1998 to 2008.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ a b Dusty Wathan Minor Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com
- ^ Dusty Wathan Stats | Baseball-Reference.com
- ^ "Dusty Wathan Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ^ Wathan Becomes Reading's All-Time Winningest Manager | MiLB.com
- ^ a b "Phillies Tab Wathan as Next IronPigs Manager". MiLB.com. September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ^ "Report: Dusty Wathan to Sign Multi-Year Extension With Phillies". si.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet