Rudy Jaramillo
Encyclopedia
Rudolpho "Rudy" Jaramillo [ha-dah-MEE-yoh] (born September 20, 1950, in Beeville, Texas
Beeville, Texas
Beeville is a city in Bee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,129 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bee County...

) is the hitting coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...

 for the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

. During his time with the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

, Jaramillo was the first individual in Rangers history to serve more than eight seasons on their major league coaching staff. He served as the Texas Rangers' major league hitting coach for 15 seasons, from 1995 to 2009. Rudy also had the longest tenure with one team as a hitting coach in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

.

Playing career

Before his coaching career, he was a minor league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 from 1973 through 1976 who batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Jaramillo played four minor league seasons for the Rangers, but he never reached the major league level as a player.

Coaching career

He started his minor league coaching career in 1983 and served as manager in the minors from 1984 to 1986. He then became a minor league roving hitting instructor and worked in that capacity through the 1989 season. In 1990, Jaramillo joined the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

 coaching staff after Art Howe
Art Howe
Arthur Henry Howe Jr. is a former Major League Baseball infielder, coach, scout and manager. He is an alumnus of the University of Wyoming...

 was named the team manager. From 1990 through the 1993 season, Rudy was the Houston Astros' major league batting coach, where offensive records were consistently broken each year and Jeff Bagwell earned Rookie of the Year in 1991. He served as manager of the Bend Rockies for one season in 1994.

Prior to the 1995 season, Jaramillo was named as the Texas Rangers' major league hitting coach. From 1996 through the end of the 2004 season, the Texas Rangers ranked in the top five in the American League in team batting average, runs scored, slugging percentage, home runs, and hits. In 1999, the Texas Rangers led all of Major League Baseball in hits, slugging percentage, and team batting average(.293 for the season). In 2005, the Rangers hit 260 home runs: the second-highest total in Major League history. In 2008, the Rangers were first in both runs scored (901), hits (1619), and home runs (194). During his time with Texas, his hitters have won 17 Silver Slugger Awards, four MVP Awards, three home run titles, two RBI championships and a batting title. Jaramillo also guided the Rangers to 13-consecutive seasons in which the offense recorded more than 800 runs scored, the longest streak by any major league team since the New York Yankees accomplished the feat in 17-straight seasons from 1926-42.

Jaramillo has been credited for the development of players as Jeff Bagwell
Jeff Bagwell
Jeffrey Robert Bagwell , is a former American professional baseball player and coach. He played his entire fifteen-year Major League Baseball career as a first baseman for the Houston Astros and was a four-time All-Star...

, Juan González, Adrian Gonzalez
Adrián González
Adrian Gonzalez is an American professional baseball first baseman with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball.Gonzalez was the first overall pick in the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft by the Florida Marlins. He was traded to the Texas Rangers, and later to the San Diego Padres, where he...

, Iván Rodríguez
Iván Rodríguez
Iván Rodríguez Torres , nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Major League Baseball catcher...

, Mark Teixeira
Mark Teixeira
Mark Charles Teixeira , nicknamed "Tex" is an American Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees. Mostly a first baseman, he has also played third base and in the outfield...

 and Michael Young
Michael Young (baseball player)
Michael Brian Young is a Major League Baseball All Star designated hitter and utility infielder for the Texas Rangers....

, among others.

When the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 were in search of a new major league manager in 2004, General Manager Omar Minaya
Omar Minaya
Omar Teodoro Antonio Minaya y Sánchez is a former baseball executive who served as General Manager for the Montreal Expos and New York Mets.-Early life:...

 interviewed Jaramillo as a possible managerial candidate. Jaramillo was among the final two candidates for the position, but Willie Randolph
Willie Randolph
Willie Larry Randolph is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and manager, most recently the third base coach for the Baltimore Orioles...

 was ultimately selected as manager.

Following the 2009 season, Jaramillo announced that he would not remain with the Rangers, opting to seek out other opportunities. He officially signed with the Cubs on October 21, 2009 as their major league hitting coach.

Honors

In 2003, Rudy was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. He was the 2004 recipient of the Texas Rangers' Joe Macko Award, given to honor his long and meritorious service to the organization.

Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...

, in 2005, named Rudy Jaramillo Major League Coach of the Year.

Jaramillo was awarded with the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum
Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum
The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame, Inc., was founded in San Francisco, California, in June 1999 by its founder Mr.Gabriel "Tito" Avila, Jr., as a way to honor the greatest Hispanic baseball players of all time. The organization is a not-for-profit institution...

 Hall of Fame Pioneer Award at Rangers Ballpark, Arlington Texas on September 19, 2008.

External links

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