Don Bryant (baseball)

Don Bryant

Catcher

Born: July 13, 1941
Jasper, Florida

Died: January 22, 2015 (aged 73)
Gainesville, Florida

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

July 17, 1966, for the Chicago Cubs

Last MLB appearance

July 29, 1970, for the Houston Astros

MLB statistics

Batting average

.220

Home runs

Hits

Teams

Chicago Cubs (1966)
Houston Astros (1969–1970)

Donald Ray Bryant (July 13, 1941 – January 22, 2015) was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball. He was nicknamed "Bear" by baseball teammates in homage to University of Alabama football coaching legend Paul "Bear" Bryant. Born in Jasper, Florida, Bryant threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg).

Bryant's 14-year professional playing career, which included 892 games played in the minor leagues and 59 games at the MLB level, began in the Detroit Tigers' organization in 1960. He spent six seasons there until late 1965, when he was purchased by the Chicago Cubs. He began his MLB career with the Cubs in 1966, then later played for the 1969–70 Houston Astros. In the Majors, Bryant batted .220 with 24 hits, one home run and 13 runs batted in, and caught Don Wilson's second career no-hitter on May 1, 1969, against the Cincinnati Reds.^[1]^[2] Bryant's only big-league home run, a two-run blast, came two days later off Bobby Bolin of the San Francisco Giants, the winning blow in an eventual 4–3 Houston victory.^[3]

Bryant was acquired by the Boston Red Sox in December 1970 and became a playing coach for their Triple-A affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox, in 1973. The following year, Pawtucket manager Darrell Johnson was promoted to Boston as field boss, and brought Bryant with him as bullpen coach. Bryant coached under Johnson in Boston (1974–76) — serving on the 1975 American League championship team — and with the Seattle Mariners (1977–80) before leaving the game.

References

External links

Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
Baseball Reference Bullpen
Retrosheet
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
Obituary

Preceded by Doug Camilli	Boston Red Sox Bullpen Coach 1974–1976	Succeeded by Walt Hriniak
Preceded by Franchise established	Seattle Mariners Bullpen Coach 1977–1980	Succeeded by Frank Funk

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