Jayce Tingler

From BR Bullpen

Jayce Michael Tingler

BR Manager page

Biographical Information[edit]

Jayce Tingler played, coached and managed in the minors and coached in the majors before being named manager of the San Diego Padres for the 2020 season.

High School[edit]

Tingler was All-State in both baseball and basketball three times in high school. He hit .497 with a .572 OBP and only three strikeouts in his baseball career in high school and was named a USA Today All-America honorable mention. In hoops, he was a McDonald's All-America nominee.

College[edit]

Jayce hit .342/.485/.359 as a college freshman with 44 walks and 50 runs in 52 games in 2000. He led his team in walks, OBP and steals (14) and was an honorable mention Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American. In '01, Tingler batted .304/.459/.368 and was 20-for-23 in steal attempts. He set a record by reaching in 14 straight Big 12 Conference plate appearances.

As a junior, Tingler hit .346/.454/.416 with 65 runs in 51 outings and played error-free ball in the outfield. He hit .311 for the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod League and led the high-profile summer loop with a .456 OBP while finishing second with 32 runs and third in average.

As a senior in 2003, Tingler's batting line was .395/.525/.488 with 48 walks and 68 runs in 58 games while again going without an error. He was second in the Big 12 in average behind David Murphy and was named All-Conference. Overall, he had hit .349/.482/.412 in college with 168 walks and 226 runs in 210 games, fielding .996. He led the Big 12 in OBP. He finished as Missouri's all-time hit leader with 274, walk leader with 168 and run leader with 226, while finishing second with 66 steals. He was picked in the 10th round of the 2003 amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, seven rounds before teammate Ian Kinsler went to Texas.

Minor league player[edit]

Tingler hit .283/.411/.361 as a pro in 2003 between the Auburn Doubledays and Pulaski Blue Jays, with 54 runs in 69 games and 50 walks to 14 strikeouts. He led the Appalachian League with 46 walks and also led the league's outfielders with 124 putouts.

Jayce produced at a .251/.373/.300 rate for the 2004 Dunedin Blue Jays, drawing 74 walks with only 25 strikeouts and scoring 77 runs. He led the Florida State League with 16 times hit by pitch. He again dazzled on defense, fielding .990 in the outfield and registering 15 assists.

Tingler batted .265/.353/.318 in a return engagement with Dunedin in 2005 and fielded .992. The Texas Rangers took him in the AAA phase of the 2005 Rule V Draft. He split 2006 between the Bakersfield Blaze (.330/.432/.375 in 56 G, winning mid-season California League All-Star honors) and the AA Frisco RoughRiders (.227/.306/.227 in 25 G).

Overall, Tingler had hit .271/.378/.322 as a pro with 221 walks to 95 strikeouts.

Coaching and managing[edit]

Tingler became a hitting coach for the DSL Rangers in 2007. He managed the DSL Rangers 1 to 46-23 and first place in 2008 and the DSL Rangers 2 to 47-15 and first place in 2009. He managed the AZL Rangers in 2010, then was coordinator of instruction for rookie-level operations in the organization in 2011. In 2012, he was promoted to minor league field coordinator for the Rangers. Tingler stayed in this position for three years before the Rangers promoted him to major league field coordinator in 2015. In a somewhat unusual move, he then left coaching to work as an Assistant General Manager for Player Development in 2017. In 2019 his responsibilities shifted again under the title of Major League Player Development Field Coordinator.

Tingler was not considered one of the leading candidates to receive a managerial gig when several openings were created following the 2019 season, but on October 24th, it was announced that he had been picked to manage the San Diego Padres starting in 2020. He was managing the Leones del Escogido in the Dominican League at the time of the announcement and he immediately resigned his position. It was his friendship with Padres GM A.J. Preller, a former Rangers assistant GM, that apparently tipped the scale in his favor.

In his first season, in 2020, he guided the Padres to the postseason in the season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, and even managed to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Series before being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series. Expectations were very high heading into 2021, with most experts predicting that the Padres would be battling with the Dodgers for the NL West title. However, after a decent first half that saw an interloper - the San Francisco Giants - insert itself in the race, the Padres completely collapsed down the stretch, not only failing to make the postseason altogether, but ending up under .500. It was a huge disappointment, and Tingler paid the price, being dismissed two days after the season ended.

In 2022, he was named bench coach of the Minnesota Twins where he remained through the 2023 season.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • Other Postseason Appearance: 1 (2020 - 2nd place)


Preceded by
Rod Barajas
San Diego Padres Manager
2020-2021
Succeeded by
Bob Melvin

Year-By-Year Managerial Record[edit]

Year Team League Record Finish Organization Playoffs
2020 San Diego Padres National League 37-23 2nd San Diego Padres Lost NLDS
2021 San Diego Padres National League 79-83 3rd San Diego Padres

Sources[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Associated Press: "Padres to turn to Tingler to end their losing ways", USA Today, October 31, 2019. [1]
  • Scott Boeck: "Padres to hire former Rangers coach Jayce Tingler as next manager", USA Today, October 24, 2019. [2]

Related Sites[edit]