Omar Malavé
Omar Anthonio Malavé
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 178 lb.
- Born January 17, 1963 in Cumaná, Sucre, Venezuela
- Died November 22, 2021 in Dunedin, FL USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Omar Malavé was a player, coach, or manager in the Toronto Blue Jays organization for 26 years. He is the brother of Benito Malavé.
Malavé was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays on August 23, 1980. A third baseman he had his best season in 1985 with the Kinston Blue Jays when he batted .288 with 10 HR and 55 RBI and was fourth in slugging percentage. He made it as high as AA in from 1987 to 1989 with the Knoxville Blue Jays, and 8 games at AAA Syracuse in 1989. He retired as a player in 1989 after nine seasons and joined the coaching staff of the Medicine Hat Blue Jays of the Pioneer League in 1990.
Malavé became the manager of the Gulf Coast Blue Jays (GCL) in 1991. He led the team to a second place finish in his first year and then to a first place finish in 1992. He was promoted to Medicine Hat in the following year, where he guided the team to second place. Moving up a level again in 1994, Malavé managed the Hagerstown Suns (South Atlantic) for two years, in that time the team went 153-124. The Suns finished in first place in the first half of the 1994 season and second in the second half but fell to third and fifth in the respective halves of the 1995 season. Malavé moved again in 1996 to the Knoxville Smokies of the class-AA Southern League. In his four years with the team they finished a half in first place three times, in second twice, in third twice, and in fourth once. Despite this in each of the years his team placed first (1997-1999), the team lost in the first round of the playoffs.
Malavé moved to AAA in 2000 becoming a coach with the International League's Syracuse SkyChiefs. He was named interim manager for a game, which the SkyChiefs won, on June 28, 2000. He has named the teams manager on November 30 of that year. In 2001, Malavé had his first losing season as the SkyChiefs went 71-73 and placed third. The team countinued to falter, despite his presence; in the next two years it placed fourth (64-80) and sixth (62-79). Malavé moved down to the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League after the 2003 season. In his first year with the club (2004), the Blue Jays finished with a league-best 76-57 record, earning the team a trip to the playoffs and Malavé a best manager award. The 2005 team had a record of 82-58 but lost in the first round to the Lakeland Tigers.
In 2009, Malavé completed for his 18th season as a manager, and 29th in the Blue Jays organization. In 2010, he was named as the Jays' first base coach, marking his first time in the major leagues. After one year on the big league coaching staff he returned to the minors in 2011 taking over the helm of the GCL Blue Jays.
Outside of the minor leagues, Malavé led the Cardenales de Lara to two consecutive Venezuelan League titles in 1997-1998 and 1998-1999, but did not win the Caribbean Series. He countinued with Cardenales for two more years before moving to the Caribes de Oriente in 2002-2003 and then on to the Leones del Caracas for the 2003-2004 season. He also served as an assistant coach for the Venezuela team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record[edit]
Coaching Career[edit]
- 1990 to 1991 - Medicine Hat Blue Jays (Pioneer League) coach
- 2000 - Syracuse Sky Chiefs (International League) coach
- 2010 - Toronto Blue Jays (American League) first base coach
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.