George Bamberger

George Irvin Bamberger
(Bambi)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.
• High School McKee Tech High School
• Debut April 19, 1951
• Final Game April 22, 1959
• Born August 1, 1923 in Staten Island, NY USA
• Died April 4, 2004 in North Redington Beach, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

“When you come right down to it, there is no excuse for walking a batter... It’s accepted as normal, but it isn’t normal; it’s a mistake. If you throw four bad pitches, you have made four mistakes. There is no other sport where you can survive making that many mistakes.” - George Bamberger, to Denny Boyd of the Vancouver Sun, April 21, 1980

After serving in the army in World War II, pitcher George Bamberger went on to win 213 games in the minors, only appearing in ten big league games with the New York Giants and Baltimore Orioles. From July 10 to August 14, 1958, Bamberger pitched 68 2/3 innings without issuing a walk.

Bamberger was a player/coach for the Vancouver Mounties (1960-1962) and Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers (1963) and an Orioles minor league pitching instructor (1964-1967). He gained his greatest fame as the Orioles pitching coach from 1968 to 1977. During his tenure, the O's produced four Cy Young Award winners and 18 twenty-game winners. In 1978, he left the O's to become the Milwaukee Brewers' manager, leading the club to their first winning season that year. He suffered a heart attack during spring training 1980 and retired as skipper after the season, but Bamberger returned to baseball in 1982 as the manager of the New York Mets. He served another stint as Brewers manager from 1985 to 1986.

Bamberger's first tenure of service in Milwaukee coincided with the emergence of the Brewers as serious contenders. Although Bamberger had gained fame in Baltimore as an outstanding pitching coach, the Brewers teams he managed were built around power. Bamberger managed such players as Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, and other leading hitters of the day such as home-run champion Gorman Thomas, Cecil Cooper and Ben Oglivie. The 1978-1980 team acquired the nickname "Bambi's Bombers," in honor of the manager who led them.

Notable Achievements

• ML Manager of the Year Award (1978)

Preceded by Alex Grammas

Milwaukee Brewers Manager 1978-1979

Succeeded by Buck Rodgers

Preceded by Buck Rodgers

Milwaukee Brewers Manager 1980-1982

Succeeded by Buck Rodgers

Preceded by Joe Torre

New York Mets Manager 1982-1983

Succeeded by Frank Howard

Preceded by Rene Lachemann

Milwaukee Brewers Manager 1985-1986

Succeeded by Tom Trebelhorn

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1978	Milwaukee Brewers	American League	93-69	3rd	Milwaukee Brewers
1979	Milwaukee Brewers	American League	95-66	2nd	Milwaukee Brewers
1980	Milwaukee Brewers	American League	47-45	--	Milwaukee Brewers		interim by Buck Rodgers (26-21) April 10-June 6/ replaced by Buck Rodgers on September 7
1982	New York Mets	National League	65-97	6th	New York Mets
1983	New York Mets	National League	16-30	--	New York Mets		replaced by Frank Howard on June 3
1985	Milwaukee Brewers	American League	71-90	6th	Milwaukee Brewers
1986	Milwaukee Brewers	American League	71-81	--	Milwaukee Brewers		replaced by Tom Trebelhorn on September 26

Further Reading

• Thomas Boswell: "How to Control the Arms Race", in Why Time Begins on Opening Day, Penguin Books, New York, NY, pp. 117-127.

Related Sites

• George Bamberger at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page