Andrew Graham

From BR Bullpen

Andrew Ewes Graham

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

'Andrew Graham played in the minor leagues from 2003 to 2007, peaking at Triple-A. He also played for the Australian national team in several events.

Graham helped Armstrong Atlantic State finish 9th in NCAA Division II in 2003. The Detroit Tigers picked in the 19th round of the 2003 amateur draft. He was assigned to the Oneonta Tigers and hit .182/.333/.236 in 20 games. In 2004, he played for Oneonta (.280/.360/.308 in 8 games) and the West Michigan Whitecaps (.253/.303/.361 in 26 contests).

Graham made his debut in his native Australia with the 2005 Claxton Shield, in which he was 3 for 14 for the New South Wales Patriots. In the summer, he hit .190/.234/.230 in 32 games for West Michigan and was 4 for 14 with the Lakeland Tigers. He played for the Australian national team in the 2005 Baseball World Cup, going 4 for 15 with a double and two passed balls in seven games, starting ahead of Trent D'Antonio, who had a better tournament.

In the 2006 Claxton Shield, the New South Wales catcher hit .409/.435/.636 with 5 runs, 4 RBI and 5 doubles in five games. He successfully filled the big shoes left empty by the retirement of long-time Australian star Gary White. He played two games for Australia in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Against Jason Grilli, he struck out in his only at-bat before Gavin Fingleson pinch-hit for him. In his only other appearance, he walked against Duaner Sanchez. Andrew hit only .127/.127/.257 in 28 games for Lakeland in 2006 but was better with the Erie SeaWolves, batting .276/.344/.362 in 20 contests. In the 2006 Intercontinental Cup, the burly right-handed batter was 4 for 8 with two walks and 5 RBI as the backup to Matthew Kent.

He was only 3 for 20 with a homer and a walk in the 2007 Claxton Shield. Graham batted .208/.274/.292 in 36 games for the 2007 Toledo Mud Hens as the backup to a player with an even lower average that year, Dane Sardinha. In the 2007 Baseball World Cup, Graham hit .231/.389/.308 while splitting catching duties with Kent. He did not play in the minors in 2008. He played in the Australian Baseball League in the early 2010s.

Graham played for Australia in both the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic tournaments. He was Australia's main catcher in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, going 4 for 11 with 2 runs and 3 RBI. All his offensive production came in the 17-7 clobbering of the host Mexican national team. Years later (2017), he returned to the Classic as a coach for Australia.

In 2009 Graham joined the Detroit Tigers organization as a coach before quickly rising to manager. He was a coach for the GCL Tigers in 2009-2010 and took on the additional role of minor league catching coordinator in 2010. In 2011, Graham became a manager for the Connecticut Tigers and has remained a manager ever since. He was scheduled to lead the Lakeland Flying Tigers in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Year-By-Year Managerial Record[edit]

Year Team League Record Finish Organization Playoffs
2011 Connecticut Tigers New York-Penn League 39-35 6th (t) Detroit Tigers
2012 Connecticut Tigers New York-Penn League 35-40 7th (t) Detroit Tigers
2013 Connecticut Tigers New York-Penn League 33-42 11th Detroit Tigers
2014 West Michigan Whitecaps Midwest League 82-58 3rd Detroit Tigers Lost in 1st round
2015 West Michigan Whitecaps Midwest League 75-64 5th Detroit Tigers League Champs
2016 West Michigan Whitecaps Midwest League 71-65 6th Detroit Tigers Lost in 1st round
2017 Lakeland Flying Tigers Florida State League 62-66 9th Detroit Tigers
2018 Erie SeaWolves Eastern League 63-77 11th Detroit Tigers
2019 Lakeland Flying Tigers Florida State League 65-70 8th Detroit Tigers
2021 Lakeland Flying Tigers Low-A Southeast 55-63 8th Detroit Tigers
2022 Lakeland Flying Tigers Florida State League 66-64 6th Detroit Tigers
2023 Lakeland Flying Tigers Florida State League 70-61 3rd Detroit Tigers Lost in 1st round

Sources[edit]