Jeff Banister to be named new manager of the Texas Rangers
Multiple sources have reported that the Texas Rangers’ are going to announce that they have chosen Pittsburgh Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister as their new skipper. T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com writes,
"“The Rangers have hired Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister to be their new manager, according to Major League sources.”"
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal also tweeted,
Sources: #Rangers to hire #Pirates’ Banister as manager.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 16, 2014
Banister will be replacing former bench coach turned interim manager Tim Bogar who finished out the 2014 season at the helm of the Rangers after the abrupt departure of manager Ron Washington.
Bogar and Cleveland Indians’ bullpen coach Kevin Cash rounded out the group of finalists but Banister obviously made the best impression on general manager Jon Daniels and the rest of the Rangers’ executives.
Sullivan writes that the Rangers also interviewed quite a few other candidates including,
"“pitching coach Mike Maddux, Triple-A manager Steve Buechele, White Sox third-base coach Joe McEwing, Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo and Puerto Rico winter league executive Alex Cora.”"
Banister has a pretty unbelievable story. He’s gone through a lot to work his way up to become a MLB manager. He fought bone cancer and almost had his leg amputated in high school but he recovered and continued to play.
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A catcher, he broke his back during a collision at the plate and was paralyzed for 10 days. Amazingly he managed to play for the University of Houston and was drafted in 1986 by the Pirates.
He was however drafted in the 25th round and only ended up actually getting just one at-bat in the big leagues in 1992, and at this point in the story it should not be surprising that he hit a single.
He has worked with the Pirates in different capacities, most recently as the bench coach, for the last 29 years.
The Rangers are expected to hold a press conference sometime Thursday afternoon to officially introduce Jeff Banister as their new manager