Lee Elia
Lee Constantine Elia
(Spider)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
- School University of Delaware
- High School Olney High School
- Debut April 23, 1966
- Final Game September 13, 1968
- Born July 16, 1937 in Philadelphia, PA USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Lee Elia played in the majors for both Chicago teams and later managed in the majors with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.
Lee came out of the University of Delaware, where he attended a few years after Dallas Green, who would later be his general manager. Lee was at Delaware at the same time as Al Neiger.
He played in the minors from 1959-1965, getting his first shot at the majors in April 1966. He played shortstop for the Chicago White Sox that season, appearing in as many games as Jerry Adair but slightly fewer innings.
Elia was in the minors for 21 games in 1966 and then all of 1967 and some of 1968, coming back to the majors in September 1968 with the Cubs, with whom he appeared in 15 games.
He got his start in managing with the Spartanburg Phillies in 1975 and 1976, leading the 1975 team to the best record in the Western Carolinas League. He moved up to the Reading Phillies in 1977 and 1978 and the Oklahoma City 89ers in 1979. Elia was a coach for the Phillies in 1980 and 1981. He left the Phillies to become manager of the Chicago Cubs from 1982 to mid-1983. He returned to the Phillies in 1984, managing the Portland Beavers then coaching the Phillies from 1985 until replacing John Felske in mid-1987. He was fired with a week and a half to go in 1988, then coached the New York Yankees in 1989.
Elia returned once again to the Phillies in 1991, managing the Clearwater Phillies to the best record in the Florida State League, then moving up to the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Red Barons in 1992. He then became a coach for the Seattle Mariners in 1993 and remained on their staff through 1997. After two seasons as a scout, he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays staff in 2000. From 2003 to 2005, he was hitting coach for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and in 2006, Elia was a bench coach for the Baltimore Orioles. On June 10, 2008, he was asked to replace Jeff Pentland as the Mariners' hitting coach. A week later, he became the team's bench coach when bench coach Jim Riggleman replaced fired manager John McLaren.
In 2011-2012, Elia was a Special Assistant to GM for the Atlanta Braves, serving in the area of player development and was also listed as a special assistant coach with the major league field staff.
In 8 minor league seasons as a manager, his teams were 581-519, while his major league teams were 238-300.
| Preceded by Joey Amalfitano |
Chicago Cubs Manager 1982-1983 |
Succeeded by Charlie Fox |
| Preceded by John Felske |
Philadelphia Phillies Manager 1987-1988 |
Succeeded by Nick Leyva |
Year-By-Year Managerial Record[edit]
Related Sites[edit]
- BR Manager page
- The Southpaw Lee Elia's infamous 1983 rant
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