Mark Riggins

Mark Alan Riggins

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 180 lb.
• School Murray State University
• High School Loogootee High School

• Born January 3, 1957 in Loogootee, IN USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Mark Riggins played five seasons in the minor leagues, from 1979 to 1983. He debuted with the GCL Cardinals, going 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA in 8 appearances. In 1980, Mark excelled with the St. Petersburg Cardinals. His record was 7-3 with 13 saves and a 1.86 ERA in 57 games. He led the Florida State League in saves and made the league All-Star team.

Moving up to the Arkansas Travelers in 1981, Riggins struggled, going 4-6 with one save and a 5.87 ERA. He allowed 109 hits in 89 innings of work. In 1982, Mark became a starter and fared better in a return engagement with Arkansas; his line that year was 10-8, 3.93 and he just missed the Texas League top 10 in ERA.

In his last year as a player, Riggins spent time with St. Petersburg (4-1, 1.54 in 30 games), the Louisville Redbirds (0-0, 4.85 in 5 games) and the Charlotte O's (0-2, 7.66 in 5 games).

After his playing days ended, he became a minor league coach, with the Johnson City Cardinals in 1984, St. Petersburg Cardinals in 1985, Arkansas Travelers in 1986, Springfield (IL) Cardinals in 1987 and St. Petersburg again in 1988. He did double duty as the pitching coach of both Arkansas and the Louisville Redbirds in 1989. He was pitching coach of Louisville from 1990 to 1994, and was interim manager in 1992. He moved up to the St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach position in 1995. Riggins was the Cardinals' minor league pitching coordinator from 1996 to 2007 and held the same position for the Chicago Cubs in 2008 and 2009. He signed Mike Perconte as a scout for the Cubs. He was then named the Cubs' pitching coach for 2011 but only stayed in the job for one season. In 2016, he became pitching coach of the Cincinnati Reds. Riggins would only last until the Fourth of July though as the Reds fired him with the team in last place. He was replaced with Bullpen Coach Mack Jenkins. Riggins was pitching coach for the Dunedin Blue Jays in 2017-2018.

Sources include 1980-1984 Baseball Guides