Tony Beasley
Anthony Wayne Beasley
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 8", Weight 165 lb.
- School Louisburg College, Liberty University
- High School Caroline High School
- Born December 5, 1966 in Fredericksburg, VA USA
Biographical information[edit]
After playing college baseball at Liberty University, infielder Tony Beasley was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 19th round of the 1989 amateur draft. He was a Carolina League All-Star in 1990 and 1991 and played in the Orioles system until September 1991, when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for infielder Tommy Shields. Overall, he hit .260 with 22 homers in eight seasons in the minors.
Once his playing career ended, Beasley became a minor league coach and manager in the Pirates organization. He was a player/coach in 1998 and was the hitting coach for the GCL Pirates in 1999 and the Lynchburg Hillcats in 2000. Beasley managed in the Pirates system for the next five seasons, making the playoffs every year. Baseball America named Beasley the Class-A Manager of the Year in consecutive seasons with the Hickory Crawdads in 2002-2003. Beasley guided the Crawdads to the South Atlantic League championship and the fifth-best record in the minors in 2002. In addition to his regular season managerial duties, Beasley also managed the Mesa Desert Dogs during the 2003 Arizona Fall League season and guided the club to an 18-13 record and a spot in the League championship series versus the Mesa Solar Sox. Beasley moved up to the Altoona Curve in 2004 and led that squad to the Eastern League championship series. Once again, Baseball American named Beasley the League's Manager of the Year. After the 2005 season, the New York Yankees hired Beasley for a minor league infield instructor position. However, he stayed only about six weeks before leaving.
In 2006, he was third base coach for the Washington Nationals. Beasley was offered the managerial job for the Harrisburg Senators for 2007, but turned it down to become the Pirates' roving minor league infield instructor. He was then named the Pirates' third base coach in 2008, a role he held through 2010. Beasley was also the baserunning instructor for the whole team and hitting instructor for the pitchers. He then returned to the Nationals a second time. From 2011 to 2013 Beasley was a minor league manager and in 2014 he was the Nationals co-minor league field coordinator with Jeff Garber
In 2015, following the appointment of his friend Jeff Banister, a long-time Pirates coach, as the new manager of the Texas Rangers, Beasley moved to that organization as the third base coach of the big league team. Beasley was diagnosed with rectal cancer at the start of spring training in 2016 and had to undergo chemotherapy. He had successfully overcome a bout with bone cancer in high school and the Rangers were optimistic he would be able to return quickly. A couple of weeks later, they named Spike Owen as his replacement on an interim basis. In the end Beasley, missed the entire season although he was able to join the team for limited stretches. However, in a positive development, he was able to resume his coaching duties in 2017 after being declared cancer-free. He marked the occasion by singing the National Anthem on Opening Day, April 3rd.
Beasley remained the Rangers third base coach through 2025 and two managerial changes. Chris Woodward replaced Banister as skipper in 2019. When Woodward was fired on August 15, 2022, Beasley was named interim manager for the remainder of the season. The team went 17-31 over the last six weeks to finish in fourth place in the AL West. In 2023, Beasley returned to the coaching staff as third base coach under new manager Bruce Bochy, who led the Rangers to their first World Series championship.
His uncle is Lew Beasley.
| Preceded by Chris Woodward |
Texas Rangers Manager 2022 |
Succeeded by Bruce Bochy |
Year-by-Year Managerial Record[edit]
| Year | Team | League | Record | Finish | Organization | Playoffs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Williamsport Crosscutters | New York-Penn League | 48-26 | 2nd | Pittsburgh Pirates | League Co-Champs | |
| 2002 | Hickory Crawdads | South Atlantic League | 83-56 | 1st | Pittsburgh Pirates | League Champs | |
| 2003 | Hickory Crawdads | South Atlantic League | 82-54 | 2nd | Pittsburgh Pirates | Lost in 1st round | |
| 2004 | Altoona Curve | Eastern League | 85-56 | 1st | Pittsburgh Pirates | Lost League Finals | |
| 2005 | Altoona Curve | Eastern League | 76-66 | 2nd (t) | Pittsburgh Pirates | Lost in 1st round | |
| 2011 | Harrisburg Senators | Eastern League | 80-62 | 1st | Washington Nationals | Lost in 1st round | |
| 2012 | Syracuse Chiefs | International League | 70-74 | 9th | Washington Nationals | ||
| 2013 | Syracuse Chiefs | International League | 66-78 | 11th | Washington Nationals | ||
| 2022 | Texas Rangers | American League | 17-31 | 4th | Texas Rangers | replaced Chris Woodward (51-63) on August 15 |
Further Reading[edit]
- David Ammenheuser (Fort Worth Star-Telegram): "Who is Tony Beasley, the Texas Rangers’ new manager? What you should know", Yahoo! News, August 15, 2022. [1]
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