Friday, November 4, 2016

Preston Gomez (#513)

And now, the eighth consecutive expansion-team post on this blog: Padres' manager Preston Gomez.

Gomez' major-league career consisted of 8 games (4 as a pinch-runner, 4 as a middle infielder) in 1944 for the Senators. He played minor-league ball from 1944 to 1954, then switched to managing.


After managing in Mexico from 1957-58, he was a minor-league skipper from 1959-64 for the Reds, Dodgers, and Yankees.

Preston joined the Dodgers' coaching staff as their 3rd base coach from 1965-68, including 2 trips to the World Series.

Ex-Dodgers' executive Buzzy Bavasi hired him to be the Padres' first manager in 1969, where he lasted until late-April 1972.

Gomez moved on to the Astros, coaching in '73 and managing from '74-'75.

After 4 seasons as a coach for the Cards and Dodgers, Preston landed his 3rd and final big-league managing job in 1980, for the Cubs. He was fired in mid-season, with his team in last place.

His last stop was with the Angels, where he coached and scouted from 1981-2008.

Gomez died in January 2009 at age 85, after being hit by a car 10 months earlier.

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