Donny Rowland

James Donald Rowland formerly listed as Donnie

• Bats Right, Throws' Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 165 lb.

• School University of Miami
• High School Bishop Gallagher High School

• Born December 16, 1962 in St. Clair Shores, MI USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Donny Rowland reached AAA as a player and was later a scout. His son Shane Rowland has played in the minors.

The Detroit Tigers chose Rowland in the 19th round of the 1981 amateur draft but he opted for college. He was with the University of Miami during a powerhouse era. They won the 1982 College World Series, went to the 1984 College World Series and won the 1985 College World Series. The Tigers took him again in the 1985 amateur draft, this time in the 8th round (one round after Doug Strange). Donny had a good pro debut with the Bristol Tigers, hitting .299/.391/.387, stealing 14 bases in 18 tries, scoring 44 runs in 59 games and fielding .967 at 2B. He tied Tim Dulin for 8th in runs and was 10th in average but made did not make the Appalachian League All-Star team as Gator Thiesen got the nod. Bristol won the title.

Rowland was the regular second baseman for the 1986 Lakeland Tigers. He batted .258/.335/.321 and his steal rate was worse (12-for-23) while his fielding percentage was up a bit (.972). He led the Florida State League with 15 sacrifice hits. In '87, he split time between Lakeland (.276/.379/.345 in 26 G) and the Glens Falls Tigers (.275/.317/.369 in 83 G). With the 1988 Toledo Mud Hens, he split second base with Torey Lovullo but struggled offensively in Triple-A (.175/.252/.204, 9 R, 4 RBI in 55 G; he fielded .958).

In '89, Donny wrapped it up as a player with Lakeland (.222/.306/.241 in 16 G), the Fayetteville Generals (1 R in 2 IP) and the London Tigers (8 for 23, 4 R, 3 RBI). He finished the year as a coach in the Tigers chain. He had batted .263/.336/.333 in 371 minor league games, with 179 runs, 121 RBI and 34 steals in 59 tries. He had fielded .970 at 2B and had seen a little action at 3B (.906, 17 G) and SS (.940, 12 G) as well as his two games as a pitcher.

Rowland then became a Tigers scout. After one year as an area scout, he was promoted to East Coast Supervisor. He moved to the New York Yankees as a national scout and pro crosschecker from 1995-1999. From 1999-2003, he was the Anaheim Angels' Scouting Director. He spent most of 2004 as an agent for Jet Sports Management. He then joined the Kansas City Royals in late August as Senior Director-Player Personnel. In 2007, he returned to the Yankees as a national crosschecker. By 2014, he was New York's director of international scouting.

Sources

• 1986-1987 Baseball America Statistics Reports
• Royals Press Release