Dave Daniels (minors01)

David C. Daniels

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.

• High School Union High School

• Born October 19, 1952 in Elizabeth, NJ USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Dave Daniels reached AA in the US then spent decades in European baseball as a player and coach.

USA

Daniels was picked by the Washington Senators in the 9th round of the 1971 amateur draft. He split that summer between the Geneva Senators (.253/.354/.301 in 29 G) and Anderson Senators (.175/.254/.291 in 41 G); overall, the middle infielder stole 8 bases in 9 tries. In 1972, he batted .210/.320/.279 for the Greenville Rangers, but drew 72 walks, legged out 8 triples, stole 57 bases in 67 tries and scored 90 runs. He led the Western Carolinas League in steals, strikeouts (114), sacrifice hits (9) and triples (tied with Ronald Knaub). He fielded .946, his 31 errors leading the league's second basemen.

With the 1973 Gastonia Rangers, Daniels batted .222/.359/.293 for the Gastonia Rangers. He drew 44 walks in 69 games and was 31-for-41 in steal attempts. He was 4th in the Western Carolinas League in swipes, well back of Miguel Dilone's leading 95 but within sight of #2 Willie Randolph's 43 (in 52 more games than Daniels). In '74, he was with the Pittsfield Rangers (1 for 1) and Peninsula Pennants (.221/.322/.271, only 6 steals in 13 tries). He wrapped up his US career with Pittsfield in 1975, batting .204/.298/.272. He stole 12 bases in 21 tries.

Italy

From 1977-1984, Daniels played in Italy. He hit .378 for Nettuno in 1977, fielding .906 as their shortstop. In '78, Dave was a catcher and shortstop for Nettuno, producing at a .374/.485/.720 clip with 10 home runs, 36 runs, 35 RBI and 21 walks in 30 games; he stole 10 bases in 14 tries. In a high-scoring era in Italy, he was well behind batting champion Giorgio Castelli's .510. He fielded just .863 as the Nettuno shortstop in 1979 but batted .325/.461/.600 with 9 home runs, 31 walks, 39 runs, 14 steals (caught twice) and 29 RBI in 32 games. He tied David DiMarco and Carlo Passarotto for third in steals, three behind leader Art Fischetti.

In 1980, he fielded .923 at short for Bologna and batted .308/.408/.475 with 16 steals in 20 tries and 31 runs in 28 games. He hit .326/.418/.565 in 12 games for Bologna in '81. In 1984, he moved to Anzio and put up a .348/.517/.500 line with 22 walks and 17 runs in 20 games. In 171 games in Italy's highest level, he had hit .348/.462/.598 with 173 runs, 137 RBI, 40 home runs, 133 walks and 75 steals (in 96 tries).

Netherlands and Germany

Daniels joined Haarlem Nicols as a player in 1985 and the team won the Hoofdklasse title. He was a player-coach for Feyenoord in the Eerste Klasse in 1986. In 1987, he was a player-coach for the Amsterdam Pirates as they won the 1987 Holland Series. He was a player for Amsterdam in 1988. In 1989, Dave was head coach of HCAW but didn't last out the year. He also coached for the French national team in the 1989 European Championship. In 1990, he started off as head coach for Haarlem Nicols, but was demoted to assistant coach during the year. He was head coach of the 1991 Hoofddorp Pioniers.

After a couple years off, Daniels was assistant coach for ADO in 1994, Neptunus in 1995 (when they won the 1995 Holland Series) and Kinheim in 1996. He had now been a coach for seven Dutch teams in the span of a decade. He was a coach for the Dutch national team in the 1997 World Port Tournament and 1997 European Championship (they won a Silver Medal). In 1998-1999, he was head coach of RCH; he also played one game in 1998, his last contest as a player (he had also played 7 games in 1996, his only other action after 1987). In 2000, he piloted Sparta/Feyenoord. In 2004 and part of 2005, he was head coach of Kinheim.

Daniels managed the Solingen Alligators in the German Bundesliga for part of the 2011 season before being let go. He signed on as head coach of ADO back in the Netherlands for 2012. After 8-34 in 2012, ADO was just 2-40 in 2013 to finish last and Daniels resigned. He coached the Mannheim Tornados for part of 2018.

Sources

• Marco Stoovelaar's Dutch baseball site
• Mister Baseball
• Italian Baseball and Softball Federation
• 1972-1976 Baseball Guides