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Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Joe Coleman dead at 78
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- Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Joe Coleman dead at 78
Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Joe Coleman died on Wednesday, July 9, in Jamestown, Tennessee, according to his son, Casey. Coleman was 78 years old.
Coleman died in his sleep on Wednesday morning, and the cause of death has not yet been determined.
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Coleman, the son of major league pitcher Joe Coleman, Sr. , pitched for seven teams across 15 major league seasons, most prominently with the Tigers from 1971-76. He had a career record of 142-135, at one point pitching in at least 200 innings for eight straight seasons and notching one All-Star appearance in 1972.
Coleman had his most successful years in Detroit, leading the team in wins (23) during a 1973 season that by Baseball Reference's version of wins above replacement (5.7) was his best. He finished 23-15 that season, putting up a 3.53 ERA in 40 starts over 288⅓ innings pitched.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Joe Coleman in action on the mound during the 1974 season.
Coleman was traded to Detroit on Oct. 9, 1970, as part of an eight-player exchange that sent two-time Cy Young winner Denny McLain to the Washington Senators. McLain, the 1968 American League MVP for the World Series champion Tigers , was ineffective in his final two MLB seasons from 1971-72, while Coleman put up 88 wins in six seasons with the Tigers.
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Coleman was born in Boston on Feb. 3, 1947. He played at Natick High and at Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams' baseball camps.
The 18-year-old Coleman was part of the first MLB Draft in 1965, with the Senators taking him with the No. 3 overall pick. He was the first drafted player ever to sign with a team (to a then team-record $75,000 signing bonus), and on Sept. 28, 1965, became the first drafted player to reach the major leagues in his debut against the Kansas City Athletics.
Coleman threw a complete game in his debut, allowing one earned run and four hits while striking out three batters in a 6-1 win.
The righty's time in Detroit was marked mostly with unremarkable Tigers seasons, save for a first-place finish and ALCS appearance in Coleman's 1972 All-Star season. Coleman's sole playoff appearance was a complete-game shutout in Game 3 of the 1972 ALCS against the Oakland Athletics , where he struck out 14 batters, then an AL playoff record.
Joe Coleman, Detroit Tigers pitcher, in 1976.
That record has since been surpassed by Mike Mussina (15 Ks) for the Baltimore Orioles in the 1997 ALCS and Roger Clemens (15 Ks) for the New York Yankees in the 2000 ALCS.
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Coleman pitched effectively in 1974 but had arguably his worst season in 1975, putting up a 10-18 record with a career-worst 5.55 ERA. The Chicago Cubs purchased his contract on June 8, 1976, ending his career in Detroit.
Coleman found success as a reliever for the Athletics in 1977, but hopped around the majors in his final two seasons, playing for four teams until his final game with the World Series-winning Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 24, 1979.
From there, Coleman turned to coaching, where he was a player/coach for the minor league Spokane Indians in 1980-81. He was the manager for the Peoria Suns, an affiliate of the California Angels , in 1983, going 54-85 in his only season.
He served as a pitching coach on various major and minor league coaching staffs, serving as Joe Torre's pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1991-94. He was also the pitching coach for the Low-A Lakeland Flying Tigers from 2007-11, finishing his coaching career with the Miami Marlins ' organization from 2012-15.
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Coleman also saw his son Casey Coleman rise to the majors, as Casey pitched in four major league seasons in 2010-12 and 2014. Casey marked the third generation of Colemans to play in MLB, as Joe's father played for 10 seasons across 14 years with the Philadelphia Athletics, Orioles and Tigers from 1942-1955.
"He was a good man with a really good heart," said Casey in a statement provided to the Free Press. "Everywhere I went in professional baseball, I met pitchers he coached. Many gave him credit for making it to the big leagues. Many said he was their favorite coach the way he communicated and was so laid back. He would fight for his pitchers not to get cut or get a raise or get promoted.
"Everyone in the game respected him, which is really rare in pro baseball. I never heard a bad word about him; and I never heard him say a bad word about a player."
According to Casey, Coleman suffered from congenital heart problems, and had a stroke a few years back, but was active and taking care of himself up until the day he died.
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Joe Coleman is survived by wife Donna, son Casey and daughter Kristen.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Joe Coleman, former Detroit Tigers pitcher, dead at 78
