Scott Ullger

Scott Matthew Ullger

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 186 lb.
• School St. John's University
• High School Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School
• Debut April 17, 1983
• Final Game September 30, 1983
• Born June 10, 1955 in New York, NY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Scott Ullger spent more than 30 years in the Minnesota Twins organization as a player, minor league manager, and big league coach.

Originally a third baseman, Ullger was selected by the Twins in the 18th round of the 1977 amateur draft and made his pro debut that summer with the Wisconsin Rapids Twins. With the Visalia Oaks the following season, he hit .320 with 20 home runs and led the California League with 36 doubles. By 1980, he was seeing most of his playing time in the outfield, and in 1981, he .269 with 20 homers for the Orlando Twins and was a Southern League All-Star.

After playing for the Toledo Mud Hens in 1982, Ullger was in the bigs with Minnesota the entire 1983 season. He made his major league debut as the starting designated hitter in an April 17th game against the California Angels, going 0-for-2 but scoring a run. He was hitless in his first 19 at-bats through June, finally hitting an RBI single off Steve Renko of the Kansas City Royals on June 8th. A week later, facing the Royals again, he had his best game in the majors, going 3-for-4 with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored, and an RBI while taking the place of an injured Kent Hrbek at first base. He finished the year with a .190 average in 35 games, 30 of them at first.

Ullger spent the next three seasons back with Toledo before spending 1987 with the Rochester Red Wings in the Baltimore Orioles chain to end his playing career.

Ullger rejoined the Twins organization in 1988 as skipper of Visalia. He led the team to a 90-51 record in 1990 and was named California League Manager of the Year. Earning a promotion to the AA Orlando Sun Rays in 1991, he led the team to a Southern League championship. He spent the next three summers managing the Twins AAA affiliates in the Pacific Coast League. He joined the Minnesota coaching staff in 1995 and was the team's hitting coach from 1998 to 2005. He spent the following five years as third base coach, and in 2011, he became the club's bench coach. He served as first base coach in 2013 when Terry Steinbach took over as bench coach and remained on the Twins' coaching staff until the end of the 2014 season, when he was dismissed along with long-time manager Ron Gardenhire.

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1988	Visalia Oaks	California League	80-62	4th	Minnesota Twins
1989	Visalia Oaks	California League	76-66	5th	Minnesota Twins
1990	Visalia Oaks	California League	90-51	1st	Minnesota Twins	Lost in 1st round
1991	Orlando Sun Rays	Southern League	76-67	3rd	Minnesota Twins	League Champs
1992	Portland Beavers	Pacific Coast League	83-61	2nd	Minnesota Twins	Lost in 1st round
1993	Portland Beavers	Pacific Coast League	87-56	1st	Minnesota Twins	Lost League Finals
1994	Salt Lake Buzz	Pacific Coast League	74-70	4th	Minnesota Twins	Lost in 1st round

Related Sites

• Twins' coaching switch burnishes Scott Ullger's manager credentials and gives Steve Liddle new role