Joey Espada
Josue Espada
(Joe)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.
- School University of Mobile
Biographical Information[edit]
Joey Espada was named manager of the Houston Astros for the 2024 season. Before that, he was the third base coach for the Florida and Miami Marlins from 2010 to 2013. In 2015, he was appointed third base and infield coach with the New York Yankees, and in 2018 he moved to the Astros as bench coach.
An infielder, Espada played 10 seasons in the minor leagues, half of them at AAA. He had hit .446 with 13 homers and 38 steals for the NAIA University of Mobile in 1996. He was picked by the Oakland Athletics with the 45th overall pick, in the second round of the 1996 amateur draft, right between two other shortstops - Brent Abernathy went at #44 and Jimmy Rollins at #46. Espada was the first Puerto Rican picked in that year's draft.
The A's assigned Espada to the Southern Oregon Timberjacks (12 for 54, 2B, HR, 5 BB) and the West Michigan Whitecaps (.270/.393/.297 in 23 G). He spent all of 1997 with the Visalia Oaks, hitting .274/.384/.324 with 72 walks, 90 runs and 46 steals in 63 tries as an ideal leadoff threat. He led all A's farmhands in swipes and led the team in runs, beating out players such as Ramon Hernandez, Eric Chavez and Jeff DaVanon.
Josue fell to .255/.373/.329 for the 1998 Huntsville Stars; one of his fellow shortstops for part of the year was Miguel Tejada. In 1999, Espada played for the Midland Rockhounds (.338/.420/.423, 85 R, 22 SB, 16 CS) and Vancouver Canadians (8 for 26, 3 BB, 2B). He fielded only .918 at short for Midland. Joey would have won the Southern League batting title had he qualified; instead, it went to Brady Clark.
Espada saw a reduced role in 2000 with Midland (.265/.357/.337 in 23 G) and the Sacramento RiverCats (.234/.358/.283 in 40 G) while seeing increased action at second base instead of short. The next year, Joey played in the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies chains with the Calgary Cannons (.300/.387/.414, 61 R in 79 G) and Colorado Springs Sky Sox (7 for 27, 2 2B, HR, 5 BB, 8 R in 7 G) respectively. He was traded for Juan Acevedo in August when he switched clubs.
The Santurce native was with his fourth organization in 2002, playing for the Kansas City Royals' Omaha Royals club and hitting only .224/.289/.278 in 74 games with 14 steals in 18 tries; he was their most-used second sacker. Espada played in 2003 for the Texas Rangers' Frisco RoughRiders (9 for 41, 3 BB) and the St. Louis Cardinals' Memphis Redbirds (7 for 26, 2 3B, HR) and Palm Beach Cardinals (.236/.317/.275).
Espada was an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Mobile, in 2004-2005. He was still active during the summers in the independent leagues. He hit .336/.382/.410 for the 2004 Pensacola Pelicans and got his final Organized Baseball look with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' Montgomery Biscuits (.265/.333/.296 in 27 G). He finished fourth in the Central Baseball League in average and was named the All-Star shortstop. He ended his playing career with the '05 Pelicans, hitting .333/.400/.443 with 24 steals in 28 attempts and 52 runs in 64 games. He was 6th in the league in average and again was picked as the All-Star shortstop.
After being hired by the Florida Marlins, he was hitting coach of the Greensboro Grasshoppers in 2006 and hitting coach of the Jupiter Hammerheads in 2007. He was minor league infield coordinator for the Marlins in 2008-2009 before being promoted to the major league staff in 2010. He was named as a coach for the Puerto Rican national team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. From 2015 to 2017, he was the third base coach for the New York Yankees under manager Joe Girardi. He was rumored to be in the running as a potential replacement for Girardi when he was fired following the 2017 ALCS, but instead accepted a job as the bench coach of the Houston Astros in 2018. He had gained managerial experience in the Puerto Rican League in the meantime.
His time as a coach with Houston followed their first World Series title, the one marred by a sign-stealing scandal. He replaced Alex Cora, who was the previous bench coach but had been hired to manage the Boston Red Sox. He first worked with A.J. Hinch as manager, and when the latter was forced to resign due to the scandal going public after the 2019 World Series, he stayed on to work with Dusty Baker. The Astros made it to the ALCS every season during that six-year span, and won a second championship in 2022. Baker announced his retirement following the 2023 season, and Espada was selected to succeed him, with the official announcement being made on November 13th, although the news had been made public the day before.
His first season at the helm of the Astros started badly as the Astros were swept at home by the New York Yankees in a four-game series from [[March 28]-31, 2024. Worse, the Astros had the lead in all four games, only to see the Yankees come back each time. Just as writers were stating to talk about the crushing pressure of succeeding a legend like Baker, he recorded his first career win in a memorable game on April 1st. That day, little-known starter Ronel Blanco pitched a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Astros' bats came alive as they crushed five homers to record a 10-0 victory. He was the first manager in history to have his first win come via a no-hitter.
He is the brother-in-law of Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, as the two men married sisters Lisa and Pamela Dearh (Pamela is Joey's wife).
Notable Achievements[edit]
- Division Title: 1 (2024)
| Preceded by Dusty Baker |
Houston Astros Manager 2024- |
Succeeded by current |
Year-By-Year Managerial Record[edit]
| Year | Team | League | Record | Finish | Organization | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Houston Astros | American League | 88-73 | 1st | Houston Astros | Lost ALWC |
Further Reading[edit]
- Brian McTaggart: "Espada to be new Astros manager", mlb.com, November 12, 2023. [1]
- Brian McTaggart: "Espada introduced as Astros manager: 'This is a very special place'", mlb.com, November 13, 2023. [2]
We're Social...for Statheads
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account
Site Last Updated:
Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?
Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter
Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE
Your All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database
Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more.