Greg Sparks | |
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Coach | |
Born: Chandler, Arizona | March 31, 1964|
Bats: left Throws: left | |
Teams | |
Joseph Gregory Sparks (born March 31,1964) is an American professional baseball coach and a former minor league player and manager. In 2016,Sparks was named assistant hitting coach for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball,a position he held through 2019.
Born in Chandler,Arizona,he is the son of Joe Sparks, [1] a retired professional baseball player,coach,manager and scout. Greg Sparks served as a batboy for the White Sox in 1979 (when his father spent part of that year on the club's coaching staff),and was present on Disco Demolition Night. He went on to attend Mesa Community College,then forge a 13-year playing career,mostly at the Double-A level. In 1992,he hit 25 home runs as a member of the London Tigers of the Eastern League. An outfielder and first baseman,he threw and batted left-handed,stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).
He worked for the Oakland Athletics' organization for 19 years,beginning in 1997,as a minor league manager and hitting coordinator. [2] The White Sox hired him as their assistant hitting coach after the 2015 season. [3]
Disco Demolition Night was a Major League Baseball (MLB) promotion on Thursday,July 12,1979,at Comiskey Park in Chicago,Illinois,that ended in a riot. At the climax of the event,a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field between games of the twi-night doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Many had come to see the explosion rather than the games and rushed onto the field after the detonation. The playing field was so damaged by the explosion and by the rioters that the White Sox were required to forfeit the second game to the Tigers.
Harold Douglas Baines is an American former designated hitter and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for five American League (AL) teams from 1980 to 2001,and is best known for his three stints with the Chicago White Sox. A Maryland native,he also played seven years with his hometown team,the Baltimore Orioles,over three separate periods. The first overall selection in the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft and a six-time All-Star,Baines led the AL in slugging percentage in 1984. He held the White Sox team record for career home runs from 1987 until Carlton Fisk passed him in 1990;his total of 221 remains the club record for left-handed hitters,as do his 981 runs batted in (RBI) and 585 extra base hits with the team. His 1,688 hits and 1,643 games as a DH stood as major-league records until David Ortiz broke them in 2013 and 2014. He also held the mark for career home runs as a DH (236) until Edgar Martínez passed him in 2004.
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Joseph Everett Sparks is an American former professional baseball player,manager,coach and scout. A former infielder in the minor leagues,Sparks batted left-handed,threw right-handed,stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg) during his active career.
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