Ron Coomer

Ronald Bryan Coomer

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 195 lb.
• School Taft College
• High School Lockport Township High School
• Debut August 1, 1995
• Final Game September 28, 2003
• Born November 18, 1966 in Crest Hill, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ron Coomer was an American League All-Star in 1999 who persevered in the minors to enjoy a nine-year MLB career. He is a cousin of Garrett Jones, who also had a long minor league career before establishing himself in the majors.

Born in Chicago, he attended Lockport Township High School before he was selected in the 14th round of the 1987 amateur draft. He spent nine seasons, 1987 to 1995, in the minor league systems of three organizations before he got his first chance in the majors at age 28. He hit over .300 at six stops in the minors, often along with good power. While he had hit quite well in the Chicago White Sox organization in 1992 and 1993, the White Sox had Frank Thomas and Robin Ventura at the corners, so Coomer had no chance at a job. Sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization in a minor league trade, he was a Pacific Coast League All-Star in both 1994 and 1995 but never got to play with the big club.

Ron got his chance in the majors when a trading deadline deal sent him from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Minnesota Twins in 1995. He played his first 37 games in the majors with the Twins that season, batting .257/.324/.455 with five home runs. A corner infielder, he became an integral part of the Twins lineup. Ron batted .296/.340/.511 in 95 games in 1996, then hit .298/.324/.438 as a full-timer in 1997. He made the trek to Fenway Park for the All-Star Game in 1999, finishing the year with a personal best 16 home runs while hitting .263/.307/.424. After a 2000 season in which he set personal bests in runs scored (64) and RBI (82), he was allowed to depart in free agency thanks to the emergence of Doug Mientkiewicz and Corey Koskie. He closed his career with a season with the Chicago Cubs in 2001, a season with the New York Yankees in 2002, and a season with the Dodgers in 2003. He appeared for the Yankees in the 2002 Division Series, batting .500 (1-for-2) in his only taste of the postseason.

After his playing career, he was a baseball analyst for a TV station in Chicago and a broadcaster for the Minnesota Twins with Fox Sports Net. Beginning in 2014, he joined the Chicago Cubs Radio Network as color commentator, partnering with Pat Hughes.

Notable Achievements

• AL All-Star (1999)