Steve Buechele

Steven Bernard Buechele

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
• School Stanford University
• High School Servite High School
• Debut July 19, 1985
• Final Game July 29, 1995
• Born September 26, 1961 in Lancaster, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Steve Buechele played eleven seasons in the big leagues, hitting 137 home runs. He became a minor league manager in 2009.

Steve was born in Lancaster, CA and attended high school in Anaheim. Steve has the distinction of being the player out of Stanford playing the second largest number of games in the big leagues, behind Bob Boone, and ahead of Ed Sprague (oddly enough, Sprague is high on the list of the most similar players to Buechele). After Stanford, he signed as a 5th round pick in the 1982 draft by the Texas Rangers and scout Rick Schroeder.

Buechele was in the minors from 1982-1985, showing moderate power and a couple of times hitting over .295. He made his major league debut on July 19, 1985, the day the Rangers traded incumbent third baseman Buddy Bell to the Cincinnati Reds. By the end of the season Steve had appeared in a fierce 69 games at the hot corner. He manned third base for the Rangers through August 1991, while also filling in sometimes at second base and other positions. In 1986 he appeared in 33 games at second base. Boo was good for around 15 home runs a season, twice hitting 18; the latter 18 came in his finest Texas season, 1991, when he was acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates in their push for a National League pennant. In 121 games before being bid a fond farewell, he was slashing a career-best .267/.335/.447 with 66 RBI; overall, he slashed .262/.331/.440 with career marks in homers (22) and RBI (85).

Steve spent parts of 1991 and 1992 in Pittsburgh, teammates with perennial All-Star Barry Bonds as well as Andy Van Slyke. The Pirates won the NL East both years under manager Jim Leyland and Steve hit well in postseason play in 1991, batting .304 in an NLCS loss to Atlanta. In July 1992, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs and played almost the entire remainder of his career there. His best year with the Cubs was 1993, when he hit 15 home runs with a new career best slash line of .272/.345/.437 in 133 games. When he slipped a bit in 1995, he was released and the Rangers picked him up for a 9 game big league farewell. In eleven seasons, he slashed .245/.316/.394 with 1,046 hits. He later made one observer's All-Steve Team [1].

After managing in the minor leagues from 2009 to 2014, Steve was named bench coach for, who else?, the Rangers! under new manager Jeff Banister in 2015. In 2018, he moved to first base coach to make room for Don Wakamatsu to return to his former position. In 2019, he became a special assistant for baseball operations in the team's front office.

Steve's son, Garrett, was an infielder for the University of Oklahoma team which competed in the 2010 College World Series; Garrett had been drafted shortly beforehand but never reached the bigs. Another son, Tanner, played at Fullerton College, while a third one, Shane, was a quarterback at the University of Texas and SMU.

Notable Achievements

• 1985 MVP American Association Oklahoma City 89ers
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1991)

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
2009	Bakersfield Blaze	California League	75-65	3rd (t)	Texas Rangers	Lost in 2nd round
2010	Frisco Rough Riders	Texas League	72-67	3rd	Texas Rangers	Lost in 1st round
2011	Frisco Rough Riders	Texas League	79-61	2nd	Texas Rangers	Lost in 1st round
2012	Frisco Rough Riders	Texas League	80-60	2nd	Texas Rangers	Lost League Finals
2013	Frisco Rough Riders	Texas League	70-70	4th	Texas Rangers
2014	Round Rock Express	Pacific Coast League	70-74	11th (t)	Texas Rangers