Gary Ashby

Gary W. Ashby

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 183 lb.

• School Texas Tech University

• Born ~1955

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Gary Ashby spent two seasons in AAA then became a college coach.

Ashby was twice All-Southwest Conference at 1B and was the first Texas Tech player to hit double-digit homers in a season (11, 1977). The San Diego Padres took him in the 23rd round of the 1977 amateur draft. With their next pick, they took another infielder from a Texas college, also named Gary: Gary Weiss.

Ashby made his pro debut with the Walla Walla Padres, hitting .286/.358/.450 with 8 homers and 41 RBI in 61 games. He tied for 9th in the Northwest League in home runs and was 10th in RBI. In 1978, he batted .309/.387/.460 with 28 doubles, 21 steals in 29 tries, 109 runs and 112 RBI for the Reno Silver Sox. He led California League first basemen in both assists (92) and errors (19) and was among the league leaders in doubles (tied for 9th), runs (7th), triples (tied for 5th), RBI (3rd after Steven McManaman and Joe Charboneau). He did not make the league All-Star team, as John Harris was picked at 1B.

Gary was with the Amarillo Gold Sox in 1979 and his batting line read .308/.338/.417. He fielded .979 at 1B, the lowest mark of any Texas League starter. He split 1980 between Amarillo (.342/.402/.437 in 109 G, 20 SB, 5 CS) and the Hawaii Islanders (.200/.279/.253 in 21 G). He also fielded .990 at first. He was third in the Texas League in batting average behind Daryl Sconiers and Dale Holman. Sconiers was named the All-Star 1B instead. Ashby's last season as a player came in 1981 with Hawaii, but he hit a meek .233/.287/.297 in 70 games. He ended his pro career with a .300/.360/.417 batting line, 303 runs and 296 RBI in 516 games. Not a typical first baseman, he had more steals (61 in 83 tries) than home runs (29).

Ashby was an assistant coach at his alma mater in 1982-1983 then was head coach from 1984-1986. He coached Mike Humphreys at Texas Tech.

Sources

• 1978-1982 Baseball Guides
• Texas Tech Hall of Honor