Rick Knapp

From BR Bullpen

Richard A. Knapp

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 3", Weight 245 lb.
  • School Virginia Tech

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Rick Knapp reached the major leagues in his 27th season in professional baseball.

Knapp was picked in the 41st round of the 1983 amateur draft by the Texas Rangers. He was 3-1 with a 1.29 ERA in 9 games for the GCL Rangers, allowing only 31 hits and 6 walks in 42 innings. With the Salem Redbirds, he had a 8.47 ERA in 7 games that year.

In 1984, Rick was 6-9 with a save and a 3.31 ERA for the Burlington Rangers. The next season, he was 13-7 with a 3.40 ERA for Salem. He led the Carolina League in innings (180) and hits allowed (187). Knapp spent 1986 with the Tulsa Drillers, going 6-16 with a 5.89 ERA. He led the Texas League in losses and his 115 runs allowed were only four behind leader Alex Madrid.

Knapp concluded his playing career in 1987 with Tulsa (8-12, 4.33) and the Oklahoma City 89ers (0-1, 6.59 in his only two games in AAA as a player).

Knapp coached for the Gastonia Rangers (1988), GCL Rangers (1989-1992), Oklahoma City 89ers (1993-1994) and GCL Rangers (1995). After the 1994 season he worked as a pitching coach for the Tempe Rafters of the Arizona Fall League. He then coached for the GCL Twins in 1996. From 1997-2008, he was the minor league pitching coordinator for the Minnesota Twins chain. In 2002 and 2003 he also was pitching coach for the Tigres de Aragua of the Venezuelan League. In 2009, he was promoted to the staff of the Detroit Tigers, making the majors as their pitching coach. He was let go by the Tigers on July 3, 2011 and was named minor league pitching coordinator for the Kansas City Royals later that year. Knapp stayed with the Royals only one season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers hired Knapp in 2013 as a minor league assistant pitching coordinator. He was promoted the next year and remained their minor league pitching coordinator through the 2016 season. Knapp then took a career detour in 2017 by working as an international pitching coordinator for Major League Baseball.

Knapp joined the Tampa Bay Rays organization in 2018 as the pitching coach for the Durham Bulls in 2018-2019. He was scheduled to return in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19. He did return to Durham in 2021. In 2022, he was promoted to the major leagues as Tampa's assistant pitching coach and rehab coach, both roles he repeated in 2023.

Primary Source: 2009 Tigers Media Guide

Related Sites[edit]