Joe Vavra

Joseph Alan Vavra

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 190 lb.
• School University of Wisconsin-Stout
• High School Chippewa Falls Senior High School

• Born November 16, 1959 in Chippewa Falls, WI USA

BR Minors page

Biographical information

Infielder Joe Vavra graduated from Chippewa Falls Senior High School in 1978, and the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 1985.

Vavra was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1982 amateur draft out of Wisconsin-Stout. He played five years in the Dodgers chain, making it to the AAA level.

Vavra was named coach of the GCL Dodgers in 1987. In 1989 and 1990 he was the manager of the Great Falls Dodgers, winning league titles both years. Vavra moved up to the Yakima Bears in 1991-1992. In 1993, Vavra managed the Vero Beach Dodgers, then returned to Yakima from 1994 to 1997, taking the league title in 1996. Vavra was a Dodgers' roving major league coach the first half of 1998 and the minor league field coordinator the second half, then split 1999 the same way. He was also an interim manager for the San Bernardino Stampede in 1998. In 2000 he was the minor league baserunning and bunting instructor.

In 2001, Vavra was the coach at his alma mater.

From 2002-2005, Vavra was the minor league field coordinator for the Minnesota Twins, and in 2006, he was named hitting coach for the Twins. He remained on the Twins' coaching staff until the end of the 2014 season, when he was dismissed along with long-time manager Ron Gardenhire.

Vavra was the manager of the Melbourne Aces in the 2015-2016 season. He then returned to Minnesota to become the team's bench coach in 2016. He remained in the position in 2017, then in 2018, he rejoined Gardenhire after his appointment as manager of the Detroit Tigers. His title was quality assurance coach. In 2020, he was named the team's hitting coach but was dismissed after the season alongside most of the other members of the coaching staff.

His three sons (Tanner Vavra, Trey Varva, and Terrin Vavra) have all played pro ball. Tanner has been an assistant coach at University of St. Thomas and Trey has been an assistant at University of Minnesota, while Terrin reached the majors in 2022.

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1989	Great Falls Dodgers	Pioneer League	53-14	1st	Los Angeles Dodgers	League Champs
1990	Great Falls Dodgers	Pioneer League	48-20	1st	Los Angeles Dodgers	League Champs
1991	Yakima Bears	Northwest League	44-32	2nd	Los Angeles Dodgers	Lost League Finals
1992	Yakima Bears	Northwest League	65-71	6th	Los Angeles Dodgers
1993	Vero Beach Dodgers	Florida State League	56-77	12th	Los Angeles Dodgers
1994	Yakima Bears	Northwest League	49-27	1st	Los Angeles Dodgers	Lost League Finals
1995	Yakima Bears	Northwest League	27-48	8th	Los Angeles Dodgers
1996	Yakima Bears	Northwest League	40-36	3rd	Los Angeles Dodgers	League Champs
1997	Yakima Bears	Northwest League	23-53	8th	Los Angeles Dodgers
1998	San Bernardino Stampede	California League	2-2	--	Los Angeles Dodgers		replaced Mickey Hatcher (29-48) on June 25 / replaced by Tim Wallach on June 29