Wayne Krenchicki
Wayne Richard Krenchicki
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.
- School University of Miami
- High School Ewing (NJ) High School
- Debut June 15, 1979
- Final Game September 22, 1986
- Born September 17, 1954 in Trenton, NJ USA
- Died October 16, 2018 in Pittsfield, IL USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Third baseman Wayne Krenchicki was a useful part-time player for four teams over eight major league seasons from 1979 to 1986. A left-handed batter, he was platooned and rarely faced a southpaw - only 75 of his 1,195 career plate appearances were against a lefty pitcher. Krenchicki's final batting line was fine for a role player in the 1980s, finishing at .266/.339/.359 with 15 homers and 124 RBIs. He probably could have extended his time in the majors if he did better as a pinch hitter. Krenchicki could only muster a .188/.250/.268 batting split in 149 lifetime pinch hit at-bats.
He started off in 1979 as a shortstop with the Baltimore Orioles, but eventually became a third baseman, while also appearing at second and first base and seeing time with the Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers and Montreal Expos. He was never a regular and only played over 100 games twice: in 1983, when he played 110 games between the Reds and Tigers, and in his final season, 1986, when he appeared in 101 games for the Expos. His 247 plate appearances in his final season were a career high. He only had middling power, his career high being 6 homers in 1984, and his highest RBI total was 27, in 1983.
In 1989, Krenchicki played for the Bradenton Explorers of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He hit .264 in 65 games with the club. In 1990, he played for the Daytona Beach Explorers of the same league. He played in 15 games and batted .260 when the league folded.
Krenchicki managed in the Milwaukee Brewers chain from 1991 to 1994. He managed in the Texas-Louisiana League in 1995, Northern League in 1996-1997, and in the Atlantic League from 1998 to 2008. In 2009, he became the manager of the Evansville Otters in the Frontier League.
Krenchicki's brother, Tom Krenchicki, was a shortstop in the Los Angeles Dodgers chain in 1968. Wayne had played for Team USA in the 1973 FEMBA Amateur World Series (he was the All-Star SS and they won the Gold Medal) and 1975 Pan American Games; they won the Silver Medal in the latter event.
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