Fran Riordan

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Francis Peter Riordan

BR minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Fran Riordan was an independent league OF-1B from 1997-2003. He played for the Richmond Roosters his first two years followed by two seasons with the Dubois County Dragons. On August 1, 2000 the Dragons fired manager Tim Wallace and named Riordan a player-manager for the remainder of the season. Riordan returned to the Roosters for the 2001-2002 seasons as their player-manager and led the team to back-to-back Frontier League championships. Riordan completed his playing career in 2003 with the North Shore Spirit in the Northeast League. Over seven independent league seasons, Riordan hit .281/.332/.432 while playing in 501 games.

Riordan became a full-time manager in 2004 and managed in the independent leagues through the 2014 season. He won a third Frontier League championship in 2005 with the Kalamazoo Kings. In addition to the championships, Riordan earned a number of individual accolades. He was named the Frontier League Manager of the Year in 2008. When he left the independent leagues he sat atop the all-time wins column with a 625-437 record. The Frontier League also established the Fran Riordan Citizenship Award which is given annually to the player who best exemplifies good citizenship off the field and in his community. Last, but not least, Riordan was named to the Frontier League Hall of Fame in 2014.

In 2015 the Oakland Athletics hired Riordan to manage the Beloit Snappers. He has remained in the Athletics organization since then and won another championship in 2017 with the Midland RockHounds. Riordan was scheduled to manage the Las Vegas Aviators in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Year-By-Year Managerial Record[edit]

Year Team League Record Finish Organization Playoffs Notes
2000 Dubois County Dragons Frontier League 13-19 -- Independent Leagues replaced Tim Wallace
2001 Richmond Roosters Frontier League 49-35 2nd Independent Leagues League Champs
2002 Richmond Roosters Frontier League 53-31 2nd Independent Leagues League Champs
2004 Kalamazoo Kings Frontier League 51-47 7th Independent Leagues
2005 Kalamazoo Kings Frontier League 53-43 4th Independent Leagues League Champs
2006 Kalamazoo Kings Frontier League 47-49 5th Independent Leagues
2007 Kalamazoo Kings Frontier League 51-45 5th Independent Leagues
2008 Kalamazoo Kings Frontier League 60-36 1st (t) Independent Leagues Lost League Finals
2009 Kalamazoo Kings Frontier League 58-38 1st Independent Leagues Lost in 1st round
2010 Lake County Fielders Northern League 41-59 7th (t) Independent Leagues
2011 Florence Freedom Frontier League 39-57 10th (t) Independent Leagues
2012 Florence Freedom Frontier League 57-39 2nd (t) Independent Leagues Lost League Finals
2013 Florence Freedom Frontier League 53-43 4th (t) Independent Leagues Lost in 1st round
2014 Florence Freedom Frontier League 41-55 9th Independent Leagues
2015 Beloit Snappers Midwest League 55-84 14th Oakland A's
2016 Beloit Snappers Midwest League 59-80 15th Oakland A's
2017 Midland Rockhounds Texas League 67-71 4th (t) Oakland A's League Champs
2018 Nashville Sounds Pacific Coast League 72-68 6th Oakland A's
2019 Las Vegas Aviators Pacific Coast League 83-57 2nd Oakland A's Lost in 1st round
2021 Las Vegas Aviators Triple-A West 62-58 4th Oakland A's 3-3
2022 Las Vegas Aviators Pacific Coast League 71-79 7th Oakland A's
2023 Las Vegas Aviators Pacific Coast League 75-74 5th Oakland A's
2024 Las Vegas Aviators Pacific Coast League Oakland A's

Related Sites[edit]