Timothy Wallace (minors01)

From BR Bullpen

Timothy Wayne Wallace

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 9", Weight 169 lb.

BR minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Tim Wallace reached AAA then became a college coach.

Minors[edit]

Wallace hit .456 at Wofford College, setting a school record. The St. Louis Cardinals took him with the 49th pick of the 1982 amateur draft, a second-rounder between Scott Kamieniecki and Bo Jackson. St. Louis had a superb draft, getting Todd Worrell, Terry Pendleton, Vince Coleman and Rob Dibble, but Wallace didn't reach their level. He made his pro debut with the Johnson City Cardinals, hitting .257/.401/.356 with 53 walks in 66 games and 11 steals in 13 tries. He led the Appalachian League in walks (5 ahead of runner-up Preston Cash) and missed the top 10 in OBP by a few points. On the negative side, he led league backstops with 12 errors and tied for the most passed balls (10). He was named the league's All-Star catcher.

Tim had a productive 1983 with the St. Petersburg Cardinals (.306/.370/.390, 31 2B) and the Arkansas Travelers (14 for 29, 4 2B, BB). He was third in the Florida State League in doubles behind Curtis Burke and Todd Benzinger and led Cardinals farmhands in that category. He also led FSL catchers with 548 putouts and was 7th in the league in average (between Virgilio Silverio and Casey Candaele). Among St. Louis minor leaguers, he was third in average behind Coleman and Eddie Tanner. He again was an All-Star, splitting the honor with Mike Williams in the FSL Northern Division.

Wallace's production fell in 1984 with St. Petersburg (5 for 36, 9 BB) and the Arkansas Travelers (.248/.324/.323 in 51 G). In 1985, he hit .282/.368/.336 in 46 games for Arkansas and was with the Montreal Expos' Jacksonville Expos affiliate (.296/.351/.349 in 55 G). He played for the same two clubs in '86, batting .212/.286/.283 in 34 games for Arkansas and .196/.308/.268 in 19 for Jacksonville; he was also with the AAA Louisville Redbirds (.225/.277/.324 in 44 G).

In 463 minor league games, he had batted .270/.352/.348 and fielded .983 at catcher while also playing more than 25 games at both third base and the outfield.

Italy[edit]

Tim went to Italy's Serie A for two years. He hit .457/.517/.946 with 17 homers, 42 runs and 47 RBI in 29 games the first year for Nettuno; he was 20 points behind batting average league leader Roberto Bianchi in the high-offense aluminum-bat league. In 1988, he hit .422/.508/.839 with 18 homers, 52 runs and 49 RBI in 39 games for Nettuno, leading Italy in both average and dingers. He was 7 RBI shy of leader Giuseppe Carelli to lose out on a Triple Crown. In the finals, he remained excellent, going 8 for 17 with a double and a homer but his club lost out to Rimini. That ended Wallace's playing career.

Coaching[edit]

Wallace became head coach of Spartanburg Methodist College in 1992. He was 936-292 through 2011-2012 and took his team to the 2001 NJCAA World Series, 2007 NJCAA World Series and 2012 Junior College World Series. He set school records for wins in 2003 (50), 2007 (54) and 2009 (55). He helped develop Orlando Hudson and Lee Gronkiewicz in college.

Sources[edit]