Jose Leger
Jose Joaquin Leger Duran
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.
- School Georgia College and State University
- Born May 19, 1982 in Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional D.R.
Biographical Information[edit]
The Minnesota Twins signed Jose Leger as a non-drafted free agent on June 28, 2004 and he played in their minor league system from 2004-2006, briefly reaching AA in his final season. Overall Leger hit .261/.334/.329 while appearing in 116 games. Defensively he split his time between third base and catcher primarily.
Leger began his coaching career in 2009 as a hitting coach for the DSL Twins. The next year he joined the New York Mets organization and managed a number of their minor league affiliates from 2010 through 2017. He was named the 2015 South Atlantic League Manager of the Year after leading the Savannah Sand Gnats to a playoff berth.
In 2018 the St. Louis Cardinals hired Leger as their Latin American Field & Academy Development Coordinator (AKA Latin American Field Coordinator) and he stayed in this role through 2020. Leger returned to the playing field in 2021 as manager for the Springfield (MO) Cardinals. He celebrated his 500th win as a professional manager on September 15, 2022 when the Cardinals beat the Tulsa Drillers. Leger is scheduled to return to Springfield in 2024 for a fourth season.
Leger also has an extensive coaching & managing record in the Dominican League. He may have started coaching with the Tigres del Licey as early as the 2008/2009 season. Leger was named their third base coach on 11/27/2010 and probably stayed in that role for the 2011/2012 season. It appears he moved to the Estrellas Orientales the following year in the same role and remained there through 2014/2015.
The following were confirmed through news accounts. Leger served as the bench coach for the Leones del Escogido from 2015/2016 through the 2019/2020 season. On January 3, 2019 Leger replaced Luis Rojas as manager for the remainder of the season when Rojas had to leave due to MLB responsibilities. Leger changed roles for the 2020/2021 season when he worked as the Director of Player Development for Escogido. In 2021/2022 he returned to the field as bench coach for Licey. The following year he took over as manager of the Águilas Cibaeñas and stayed there until he was fired on November 5, 2023. A mere four days later Escogido hired him as an assistant manager. Leger will remain with Escogido in 2024/2025 as an assistant to the general manager.
Year-by-Year Managerial Record[edit]
Year | Team | League | Record | Finish | Organization | Playoffs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | DSL Mets 1 | Dominican Summer League | 39-32 | 14th(t) | New York Mets | |
2011 | DSL Mets 1 | Dominican Summer League | 34-36 | 17th | New York Mets | |
2012 | Kingsport Mets | Appalachian League | 23-43 | 9th | New York Mets | |
2013 | Kingsport Mets | Appalachian League | 40-27 | 2nd(t) | New York Mets | Lost in 1st round |
2014 | Kingsport Mets | Appalachian League | 34-34 | 6th | New York Mets | |
2015 | Savannah Sand Gnats | South Atlantic League | 84-53 | 2nd | New York Mets | Lost in 1st round |
2016 | Columbia Fireflies | South Atlantic League | 67-73 | 10th | New York Mets | |
2017 | Columbia Fireflies | South Atlantic League | 68-70 | 9th | New York Mets | |
2021 | Springfield Cardinals | Double-A Central | 45-75 | 10th | St. Louis Cardinals | |
2022 | Springfield Cardinals | Texas League | 68-70 | 7th | St. Louis Cardinals | |
2023 | Springfield Cardinals | Texas League | 72-66 | 3rd | St. Louis Cardinals | Lost in 1st Round |
2024 | Springfield Cardinals | Texas League | 79-59 | 4th | St. Louis Cardinals | Lost in 1st Round |
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