Former massive leaguer and longtime batting coach Merv Rettenmund handed away on Saturday at age 81. Rettenmund performed 13 seasons with the Orioles, Reds, Padres, and Angels from 1968-1980, then was a hitting coach for 5 totally different groups over components of 19 seasons from 1983 to 2007.
Rettenmund was a two-sport star in his faculty days at Ball State, and was even a Nineteenth-round decide for the Dallas Cowboys within the 1965 NFL Draft. Already signed to the Orioles, Rettenmund went on to make his massive league debut in 1968 and shortly established himself as a daily on an excellent Baltimore staff. Rettenmund hit .284/.383/.436 in 2021 plate appearances throughout his six seasons with the O’s, bouncing between all three outfield positions.
This stretch of Rettenmund’s profession was highlighted by a World Sequence title with the Orioles in 1970, and he moved on to win one other ring with the 1975 Reds. Although Rettenmund’s manufacturing dropped off throughout his two years in Cincinnati, a backup position on one of many biggest groups in baseball historical past was no small feat. He served principally as a platoon participant and pinch-hitter for the rest of his profession, and completed with a .271/.381/.406 slash line and 66 residence runs throughout 3074 PA and 1023 video games within the majors.
After retirement, Rettenmund moved right into a prolonged second chapter of his baseball life by changing into a well-respected hitting coach. Rettenmund spent components of 11 seasons because the Padres’ hitting coach over two totally different stints (1991-99, and 2006-07) in San Diego, and his teaching duties additionally included stops with the Rangers, Athletics, Braves, and Tigers. Three of Rettenmund’s groups gained pennants, together with the 1989 A’s staff that gained the World Sequence.
We at MLB Commerce Rumors ship our condolences to Rettenmund’s household, pals, and friends.
