Ed Ott

Nathan Edward Ott

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 198 lb.
• High School Muncy High School
• Debut June 10, 1974
• Final Game October 2, 1981
• Born July 11, 1951 in Muncy, PA USA
• Died March 3, 2024 in Danville, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ed Ott was an outfielder in the minors; he converted to catcher in spring training of 1975. He led the Carolina League (A ball) in triples with 10 in 1972. Ed didn't play in high school because they didn't have a team at Muncy High School. He was so good in football he was offered a scholarship to Arizona State University. His nicknames were 'Otter' and 'Troll'.

In 1979, he rode a bicycle from Philadelphia, PA to spring training in Bradenton, FL in support of Tug McGraw's charitable foundation for muscular dystrophy. That year, he was the most-used catcher on the Pirates as they won the 1979 World Series over the Baltimore Orioles; he was actually the left-handed bat in a platoon with righty Steve Nicosia. After the 1980 season, he was traded to the California Angels in return for 1B Jason Thompson; Thompson was slated to take over for an aging Willie Stargell, while Ott's trade opened a spot for youngster Tony Pena to take over as the full-time catcher. For their part, the Angels wanted to move injury-plagued Brian Downing to the outfield to keep his bat in the line-up.

Ott struggled in his only season with the Angels in 1981, hitting only .217 with 2 homers in 75 games. He became a free agent but re-signed with the Angels after finding little interest, but he missed all of 1982 with an injury and never played in the majors again. Meanwhile, the Angels had acquired another veteran catcher form the National League, Bob Boone, to be their main backstop.

Ott joined the New Jersey Jackals as a coach in 2007-2009. In 2010, he became manager of the Sussex Skyhawks. He returned to New Jersey in 2011-2013.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1985	Prince William Pirates	Carolina League	65-74	6th	Pittsburgh Pirates
1986	Watertown Pirates	New York-Penn League	30-48	11th	Pittsburgh Pirates
1997	Allentown Ambassadors	Northeast League	39-43	7th	Independent Leagues
1998	Allentown Ambassadors	Northeast League	52-32	2nd (t)	Independent Leagues	Lost in 1st round
1999	Allentown Ambassadors	Northern League East	47-39	1st	Independent Leagues	Lost in 1st round
2002	Allentown Ambassadors	Northern League East	26-64	7th	Independent Leagues
2003	Allentown Ambassadors	Northeast League	32-58	8th	Independent Leagues
2010	Sussex Skyhawks	Can-Am Association	35-56	6th	Independent Leagues

Related Sites

• Ed Ott at the SABR Bio Project