Jeff Andrews (minors01)

Jeffrey Jay Andrews

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.
• School East Tennessee State University
• High School Stevens High School (Rapid City)

• Born January 27, 1959 in Yankton, SD USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Jeff Andrews was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 25th round of the 1981 amateur draft and played two seasons in their system. He was 7-2 with a 2.08 ERA for the Geneva Cubs in 1981. In 39 innings, he allowed only 26 hits. He did allow 14 unearned runs, though, so his ERA was somewhat deceptive. Had he qualified in innings pitched, he would have led the New York-Penn League in ERA. With the 1982 Salinas Spurs, the reliever worked in 33 games, going 3-4 with 5 saves and a 3.56 ERA. This time he only allowed four unearned runs.

Andrews later became a minor league pitching coach for more than two decades in the Texas Rangers (1987-1991), Seattle Mariners (1992-1997), San Diego Padres (1998-1999), Florida Marlins (2000-2001), and Pittsburgh Pirates (2003-2007) organizations. Andrews started as a minor league pitching instructor with the Rangers in 1986. Included in his minor league stops were stints as pitching coach for the Charlotte Rangers in 1987, Tulsa Drillers in 1988-1990, Oklahoma City 89ers in 1991, Jacksonville Suns in 1992-1994, and Tacoma Rainiers in 1995-1997. Andrews joined the Padres organization in 1998 and served as the Padres minor league pitching coordinator in 1998-1999. After that he was the pitching coach for the Kane County Cougars in 2000, Portland Sea Dogs in 2001, Lincoln Saltdogs in 2002, Altoona Curve from 2003 to 2005, and Indianapolis Indians in 2006-2007.

Andrews finally reached the major leagues in 2008 when he became the Pirates pitching coach. He replaced Jim Colborn, who had been widely criticized for tinkering with the mechanics of Zach Duke and Paul Maholm. While Maholm and Duke fared well back under Andrews' tutelage, the staff as a whole struggled. They had the 5th-highest ERA in franchise history and issued the most walks. As a result, Andrews was fired at the end of the campaign.

Andrews returned to the Texas Rangers organization in 2009 and was initially appointed to coach Spokane Indians pitchers. However, on May 20th he took over as pitching coach of the Frisco RoughRiders where he stayed through the 2015 season. Following the 2014 season Andrews worked as the Surprise Saguaros pitching coach in the Arizona Fall League. From 2016-2018 he served as the Rangers minor league assistant pitching coordinator followed by a 2019 season as a special assignment pitching coach for the major league Rangers. Andrews was scheduled to be pitching coach of Frisco again in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19, then did coach Frisco in 2021-2022.

The San Diego Padres hired Andrews for a second time in 2023 as the pitching coach of the San Antonio Missions. Andrews remained with the Missions in 2024.