Tony DeFrancesco
Anthony John DeFrancesco
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 190 lb.
- School Seton Hall University
- High School Suffern High School
- Born April 24, 1963 in New York, NY USA
Biographical information[edit]
Tony DeFrancesco attended Suffern High School where he was teammates with future American League Rookie of the Year Walt Weiss. Following High School DeFrancesco went on to play catcher at Seton Hall University. After helping the Pirates to Eastern College Athletic Conference titles in 1982 and 1984 as well as NCAA Regional appearances in 1982, 1983 and 1984 he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 9th round of the 1984 amateur draft. Oddly enough his being drafted would have a big effect on the first team to give him a chance at managing in the majors, the Houston Astros. When he left Seton Hall the school moved then outfielder Craig Biggio to behind the plate, where he would become a star for the Astros. He would play eight seasons in the minors in the Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds organizations. In 1984 he was named to the New York-Penn League all-star team.
After his playing days, DeFrancesco was a roving catching instructor for two seasons, and a coach with the Southern Oregon A's for one season. Next he became a minor league manager in the Oakland Athletics organization. He started with the AZL Athletics in 1994. Next he managed the Southern Oregon A's in 1995, Southern Oregon Timberjacks in 1996, and the Visalia Oaks in 1997 and 1998. He spent four seasons as skipper of the AA Midland Rockhounds (1999-2002) and in 2003, he joined the Sacramento River Cats. In his first year with the team, the club captured the Pacific Coast League title and DeFrancesco was named Sporting News Minor League Manager of the Year. He led Sacramento to two more PCL titles in 2004 and 2007.
In 2008, DeFrancesco became the third base coach for the Oakland A's, but the following year, he returned to managing the River Cats. He moved to the Houston Astros organization as manager of the AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks in 2011, then in 2012 was named manager of the major league team after the firing of Brad Mills on August 19th. He lost his first four games as the Astros' manager until finally tasting victory over the New York Mets on August 24th. He was one of the candidates interviewed as the front office looked for a new full-time manager, but was passed over in favor of Bo Porter, who took over for the 2013 season.
In 2020, he was named first base coach of the New York Mets, after having been the manager of their AAA affiliate the previous two seasons. After the season, he was reassigned to a position as senior adviser for player development and scouting within the front office.
| Preceded by Brad Mills |
Houston Astros Manager 2012 |
Succeeded by Bo Porter |
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