Following an American League-worst 67-95 finish to the 2014 season and the resignation of manager Ron Washington, the Texas Rangers have opted to hire Jeff Banister as the team's new skipper.
Here are five interesting facts about the Rangers' new manager:
5) Banister is a lifetime 1.000 hitter due to having only one at-bat in his MLB playing career as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Banister hit an infield single as a pinch hitter in a July 23, 1991 game against the Atlanta Braves at Three Rivers Stadium, narrowly beating out a ground ball to shortstop. Banister was sent down to the minors shortly afterward and never returned to an MLB field.
4) Banister spent 29 seasons in the Pirates organization, including spending five seasons as the team's bench coach. His job in Texas is his first MLB job outside of the Pirates organization.
3) Banister's first job as a manager was for Welland in the New York-Penn League in 1994 and he managed Augusta in Class A in 1995. Augusta went on to the South Atlantic League championship under Banister and he held a few other managerial positions in the 1990s.
2) According to ESPN, Banister recovered from bone cancer and osteomyelitis (an infection of the bone or bone marrow) during his playing career.
1) Per that same report, Banister was temporarily paralyzed from a home plate collision when he played junior college baseball in Baytown, TX.
The Rangers are hoping to have a bounce back season under Banister in 2015 as the skipper will look to end the team's two-year playoff drought.
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