Tom Nieto

Tom Nieto
Catcher
Born: Thomas Andrew Nieto October 27, 1960 Downey, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 10, 1984, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1990, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Batting average	.205
Home runs	5
Runs batted in	69
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (1984-1985) Montreal Expos (1986) Minnesota Twins (1987-1988) Philadelphia Phillies (1989-1990)

Thomas Andrew Nieto (born October 27, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and former manager of the Rochester Red Wings, the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. Nieto previously served as the New York Mets' bench coach and catching instructor. A native of Downey, California, Nieto attended Oral Roberts University.

Playing career

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Tom Nieto in the third round of the 1981 amateur draft. He played for the Cardinals in 1984 and 1985, the Montreal Expos in 1986, the Twins in 1987 and 1988 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1989 and 1990. He played in the World Series with the Cardinals in 1985.

Coaching career

From 1995 to 2002, Nieto worked with the New York Yankees, serving as the major league catching coach in 2000 and 2001. He managed the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League in 2003 and 2004. When Willie Randolph was named manager of the New York Mets following the 2004 season, he named Nieto as his catching instructor on November 26, 2004.^[1] In 2007, Nieto switched from catching instructor to first base coach. On June 17, 2008, the New York Mets fired Nieto, manager Willie Randolph and pitching coach Rick Peterson.^[2]

Nieto joined the Minnesota Twins organization in 2009 as the manager of the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats.^[3] In his first and only season in New Britain, he led the Rock Cats to a 72–69 record and a playoff berth. On October 20, 2009, Nieto was named as the new manager of the Rochester Red Wings, Minnesota's Triple-A affiliate. He replaced Stan Cliburn,^[4] whose contract was not renewed by the Twins following the 2009 season.^[5] On October 29, 2010, the Minnesota Twins announced Nieto and his coaching staff would return to manage the Rochester Red Wings for the 2011 season.^[6] Following the 2011 Nieto was let go by the Twins organization.^[7] He currently manages the GCL Yankees.

References

1. Tom Nieto 55 "New York Mets" Check |url= value (help). Retrieved 2005-04-09.
2. Ben Shpigel (June 17, 2008). "Mets Fire Manager Willie Randolph". New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
3. "Rock Cats Welcome New Manager Tom Nieto". New Britain Rock Cats. February 6, 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
4. Jim Mandelaro (October 21, 2009). "Nieto takes Rochester Red Wings' helm". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
5. Jim Mandelaro (September 21, 2009). "Cliburn won't return as Red Wings manager". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
6. Jim Mandelaro (2010). "Manager Tom Nieto, coaching staff to return to Rochester Red Wings in 2011". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
7. Phil Miller (2011). "Twins fire Class AAA Rochester manager Tom Nieto". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2014-07-08.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube