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 Bill Duplissea (2017) |
William Joseph Duplissea (born September 27, 1977) [1] is an American baseball coach and former player who is the advance scouting/replay coordinator for the Kansas City Royals in Major League Baseball. He was previously the Royals' bullpen catcher and played baseball in the Los Angeles Dodgers' minor league system.
Duplissea was born in San Carlos, California. [2] He attended college and played baseball at the College of San Mateo and the University of California, Santa Barbara. [1] At the latter, he was named as a conference All-Big West Baseball Team honorable mention in 1999. [3] While still in college, Duplissea was drafted in the 39th round of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft by the Baltimore Orioles, [1] [4] but did not sign. [5]
After college, Duplissea signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played in their minor league development system for five seasons beginning in 1999, reaching as high as Triple-A. [4] He never broke into the major leagues and retired after playing in seven Double-A games in 2003. [1] [6]
After leaving the minor leagues, Duplissea coached at the junior college level for about three years. In 2006, he became the bullpen catcher for the Kansas City Royals. [6] The career move was offered to him by Bob McClure, his baseball coach at the College of San Mateo who had since become the Royals' pitching coach. [7] He remained in the role until 2012, when he moved into advance scouting for the Royals. [4]
In 2014, the Royals added to Duplissea's advance scouting duties by making him the team's replay coordinator. [4] The move came after the introduction of managerial challenges to the sport. [6] [8] During games, Duplissea's role is to stay in the team clubhouse, watch the game's film in real time, and alert the Royals' coaching staff when an umpire's ruling could be overturned with a challenge. [2] [4] As of 2024 [update] , Duplissea remains in both positions. [6] [9]
Duplissea is best known for being highly skilled in the replay coordinator role. Between 2014 and 2022, the Royals successfully overturned calls on 65.7% of challenges, outranking every other team in baseball. [6] In Duplissea's first season as replay coordinator, then-Royals manager Ned Yost commended Duplissea's work to the Associated Press. "We got a real good video analyst", he said. "Very seldom does he ever make a mistake". [10]
The Kansas City Star said Duplissea had "the best eyes in baseball" near the end of the 2017 season, at which time the Royals were statistically the most successful team at challenging calls (having been successful in 22 of their 30 attempts). [8] They had also led the league in the same category in 2016. [8] [11] In 2018, The Athletic posited that Duplissea might be the most valuable member of the 2018 Royals team, ahead of any of the team's players. "There is nobody in baseball better at looking at an instant replay and judging when to challenge an umpire's call", reporter Rustin Dodd wrote. [4]
Robert Eugene Dernier is an American former professional baseball center fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs in the 1980s. The fleet-afoot 1984 Gold Glove Award winner was also known as "the Deer", to fans at Chicago's Wrigley Field. Dernier experimented as a switch hitter during part of the 1983 season with Philadelphia.
Edgar Frederick “Ned” Yost III is an American former Major League Baseball catcher and manager of the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals. He played for the Brewers, Texas Rangers, and Montreal Expos.
Robert Craig McClure is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1975 to 1993, most notably as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers with whom he won the 1982 American League pennant. Following his playing career, he has served as a coach for several MLB teams.
David William Eiland is an American former professional baseball player who was a pitcher for ten Major League Baseball seasons. Eiland played college baseball for the University of Florida and the University of South Florida, and thereafter, played professionally for the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He has also been a pitching coach for the New York Yankees, the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals.
Peter Michael Moylan is an Australian former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals and in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Macoto Gida.
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David Patrick Jauss is an American professional baseball coach and scout who currently serves as an advisor in the Washington Nationals organization. He previously served as a coach for the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates.
John Edward Farrell is an American former baseball pitcher, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). During his eight-season playing career, Farrell was a member of the Cleveland Indians, California Angels, and Detroit Tigers. He was the pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 to 2010, before serving as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2011 to 2012. He returned to the Red Sox as their manager in 2013, winning the World Series with them in his first year, and led the team until 2017. Since 2018, he has held a scouting position with the Cincinnati Reds.
Mitchell William Maier is an American former professional baseball outfielder, coach, and current front office executive. He is the director of baseball operations for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played and coached in MLB for the Royals.
Michael David Minor is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and Cincinnati Reds.
Jason Thomas Donald is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians.
The bullpen catcher is a member of a baseball team's staff, often a former professional player, who catches the ball for relief pitchers warming up before entering a game and starting pitchers before games. A bullpen catcher differentiates from a typical catcher as they are considered a coach and not a player, thus they cannot be behind home plate in an official game.
Kelly Mark Heath is a professional baseball player and scout. A second baseman, Heath played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Royals in 1982, and played in minor league baseball for fourteen years. He currently scouts for the Royals, and previously scouted for the Oakland Athletics and Cincinnati Reds.
Major League Baseball (MLB) uses instant replay review to allow league officials to review certain types of plays in order to determine the accuracy of the initial call of the umpires on the field. Reviews may be initiated either by a team's manager with limitations or by the umpires themselves. All instant replay reviews are examined by umpires at the Replay Command Center in New York City, who have the final decision as to whether to uphold or overturn the initial call.
Christian Anthony Colón is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, and Cincinnati Reds.
Hunter William Dozier is an American professional baseball third baseman in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. The Royals selected Dozier eighth overall in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft after he played college baseball at Stephen F. Austin State University. He made his MLB debut in 2016.
Whitley David Merrifield is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder for Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays. Merrifield is a three-time All-Star and has led the American League in stolen bases three times.
The Kansas City Royals entered the 2016 season as the defending World Series champions, hoping to reach the World Series for the third consecutive season. Before the season, the team signed free agents Ian Kennedy and Joakim Soria and re-signed star Alex Gordon. However, several players from the previous year's team departed in free agency, including right fielder Alex Rios, second baseman/outfielder Ben Zobrist, and pitchers Greg Holland, Ryan Madson, and Franklin Morales.
Richard Tyler Lovelady is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 10th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Royals and Oakland Athletics.
Mervyl Samuel Melendez Jr. is an American professional baseball catcher and right fielder for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.
