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William Joseph Evers (born January 29, 1954) is an American professional baseball coach and a former minor league player and longtime manager and instructor. In November 2018, he was named a coach on the staff of Rocco Baldelli, the 2019 manager of the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. The appointment marked the second MLB staff assignment of Evers' 44-year baseball career: he spent 2006 and 2007 as the bench coach during Joe Maddon's first two seasons as skipper of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Career

Evers was born in New York City. He received his BA in management and recreation from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1976 and was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the sixth round of the secondary phase of the June 1976 Major League Baseball Draft. During his four-year playing career, Evers was a catcher and first baseman who batted and threw right-handed; he was listed as 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg). Peaking at the Triple-A level with 30 games played in 1978–79, he hit 11 home runs with an even 200 hits in 274 total games, with 161 walks and 113 strikeouts.

After coaching in the Cubs' minor-league organization, Evers became a manager in the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees systems through 1995, then joined the fledgling Tampa Bay Devil Rays' organization in 1996, two seasons before the Rays' American League debut. He spent ten years managing in Tampa Bay's farm system, including eight seasons at the helm of the Durham Bulls, the club's Triple-A affiliate, where he managed Baldelli as a young player. By the time he was named the MLB Rays' bench coach for 2006, Evers had spent 19 years as a minor-league pilot and compiled a 1,381–1,206 (.534) record, then the second-most wins among active minor-league managers. He won five minor league championships and managed three of the Rays' five minor league championship teams through 2005.

In 2008, Evers was succeeded as bench coach by former Devil Ray player Dave Martinez. He then served Tampa Bay as a scout for two seasons, and spent nine years (2010–2018) as the field coordinator for the Rays' minor league organization. In all, he was a member of the Rays' system for 23 years before his appointment to Baldelli's staff. In September 2021, Evers announced his intention to retire at the end of the season, and served as acting manager in Baldelli's place when Baldelli took paternity leave that same month.

References

1. Staff report (21 November 2018), "Bill Evers is Final Addition to Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli's Staff." The Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
2. ^ Topkin, Marc (21 November 2018), "Longtime Rays' Minor League Coach/Manager Bill Evers Joins Rocco Baldelli's Twins Staff." The Tampa Bay Times
3. Palmer, Nate (23 November 2018), "Bill Evers Will Bring Valuable Experience to Staff". Pucketts' Pond blog.
4. ^ Tampa Bay Rays' official site.
5. Park, Do-Hyoung (September 5, 2021). "Twins coach Evers to retire at end of season". MLB.com. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
6. Miller, Phil (September 4, 2021). "The baseball journey of Twins coach Bill Evers winds its way to an end". Star Tribune. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
7. "Twins manager Rocco Baldelli leaving team for birth of child". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.

External links

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Coach's page from Retrosheet

• 1954 births
• Living people
• Baseball coaches from New York (state)
• Baseball players from New York City
• Durham Bulls managers
• Eckerd Tritons baseball players
• Gulf Coast Cubs players
• Major League Baseball bench coaches
• Midland Cubs players
• Minnesota Twins coaches
• Pompano Beach Cubs players
• Tampa Bay Devil Rays coaches
• Tampa Bay Rays scouts
• Wichita Aeros players
• Eckerd College alumni