Jeff Datz

Jeffrey William Datz (born November 28, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher and coach who played for the Detroit Tigers in 1989, and who is currently a scout for the New York Yankees.

Jeff Datz
Datz pitching batting practice with the Mariners, 2012
Catcher
Born: (1959-11-28) November 28, 1959
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 5, 1989, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1989, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Batting average.200
Hits2
Walks1
Teams
As player

As coach

Playing career

A native of Camden, New Jersey, Datz grew up in the Mullica Hill section of Harrison Township, New Jersey and graduated from Clearview Regional High School.[1] He attended Rowan University. In 1981, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2] He was selected by the Houston Astros in the 19th round of the 1982 MLB Draft. He signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers prior to the 1989 season, and appeared in seven games for the team that year.

Coaching career

Datz was manager of the minor league Buffalo Bisons in 1998 and 1999. He led the Bisons to the league championship crown in 1998.

He was a coach with the Cleveland Indians from 2002 until the end of the 2009 season, when general manager Mark Shapiro fired the entire coaching staff. At the 2008 Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium, Datz pitched for Cleveland Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore.

Datz served as the bench coach for the Baltimore Orioles in 2010.

On November 4, 2010, Datz was hired to be third base coach for the Seattle Mariners starting with the 2011 season.[3] Before a Mariners game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on April 27, 2013, Datz announced that he was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer,[4] and Tacoma Rainiers manager Daren Brown was promoted to substitute for Datz.[5] On July 25, 2013, Datz was named Mariners interim bench coach after Eric Wedge suffered a minor stroke. On August 23, 2013, Datz resumed his position on the team as an extra coach.

Scouting career

On November 25, 2013, it was announced that Datz will serve the Mariners as a member of the club's professional scouting staff for the 2014 season.[6]

He then joined the New York Yankees, where he was listed as a professional scout for the 2016 season.[7][8]

References
  1. Carchidi, Sam. "Family again witnesses history; 33 years after the Vet's opener, the Datzes were at the christening of Citizens Bank Park.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 4, 2004. Accessed September 5, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Jeff Datz was a lifelong Phillies fan when he grew up in Mullica Hill in Gloucester County. He attended Clearview High, where he was a baseball and football standout, and later played baseball at Glassboro State College."
  2. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  3. "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  4. "Mariners' 3B coach diagnosed with cancer". Yahoo! Sports. 2013-04-27. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  5. "Mariners add Brown to coaching staff". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. 2013-05-02. Archived from the original on 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  6. "mlb.com". Mlb.mlb.com. 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  7. Leventhal, Josh, ed. (2015). Baseball America 2015 Directory. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-56-5.
  8. Norris, Josh, ed. (2016). Baseball America 2016 Directory. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-62-6.
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