MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com –
ROUND ROCK – When Jackie Moore polished off his eighth season with Round Rock earlier this month, he assured fans he wanted to stick around for his 51st year in professional baseball.
On Sunday, the skipper kept his promise.
The Houston Astros announced that Moore, who has spent 50 years in professional baseball as a player, coach and manager, will join the major league staff as the Astros’ 2008 bench coach.
“I love this game,” said Moore, who led the Express into the playoffs in five of its eight years as a Double-A Texas League and Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate of Houston. “Round Rock has always been home to me and will always carry a special place with me.”
Moore’s replacement in Round Rock will be named at a later date.
-->Moore, 68, led the inaugural 2000 Texas League Express to an 83-57 record and a league championship. He again led Round Rock to the championship round in 2001 and into the Texas League playoffs twice more before the team moved to Triple-A for the 2005 season.
In 2006, the Express advanced to the PCL Championship for the first time in franchise history after completing an 85-59 season. Moore, a three-time Texas League Manager of the Year, exits Round Rock with a 596-534 (.527) record. During that time, 66 of Moore’s players advanced to or returned to Major League Baseball.
“His presence in Round Rock has had a tremendous impact on players, coaches and fans,” said Express Founder and C.E.O. Reid Ryan. “Jackie Moore has truly touched the lives of everyone he’s coached or come in contact with.
“To be around the game as long as he has and to still have that gift to constantly and willingly give back to the players and to the community is just a commodity you don’t see much of anymore.”
Moore, who joined Houston as a temporary bench coach after Round Rock closed its season on Sept. 3, previously coached in the majors with the 1998 Colorado Rockies under Don Baylor.
He spent 11 seasons in the Detroit Tigers’ minor league system and was the Tigers’ Opening Day catcher in 1965. He broke into managing with New York-Penn League Jamestown in 1968 and made his major league managing debut with Oakland in 1984.
He served as manager for the Athletics over parts of three seasons and was a coach for the 1990 World Series Champion Cincinnati Reds. His resume also includes time with the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Montreal Expos and Texas Rangers.
“This move is a great testament to the character that Jackie Moore possesses,” said Round Rock president Jay Miller. “He’s always been the kind of manager and the kind of person that players and people could rely on and count on to teach them about baseball and about life.
“He will be missed in Round Rock.”