Lovullo first reached the major leagues for a brief trial in September 1988,during his second professional season. Replacing Tom Brookens at third base in the late innings of a 9–4 Tiger loss to the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 10,he singled off Rick Rhoden in his first major-league at bat.[4] Lovullo played one full season and parts of seven others in MLB.[3] In his only full campaign,with the 1993 California Angels,he appeared in 116 games and collected 92 hits for a career-high .251 batting average.[3] He was the Angels' most-used second baseman,starting in 79 of the team's 162 games. He was a teammate that season of pitcherJohn Farrell,and formed an association that influenced Lovullo's managerial and coaching career.
Lovullo's long minor league playing career —1,433 games with 1,193 hits,and a batting average of .267[5] —included extended stays with the Toledo Mud Hens,Columbus Clippers and Buffalo Bisons. He later returned to manage in both Buffalo and Columbus.
Coaching and managing career
Minor leagues
Lovullo's off-field career began in the Cleveland organization in 2001 as a minor league infield coach.[6] After Farrell joined the Indians' front office as director of player development that November,Lovullo became the manager of the 2002 Columbus (Georgia) RedStixx of the Class A South Atlantic League,and guided them to the finals of the SAL playoffs. He then moved up to the High Class A Kinston Indians (2003–04) and the Double-AAkron Aeros (2005),which he piloted to an 84–58 win–loss record and the Eastern League championship. His 2005 success led to his first MLB managerial audition,when he was invited to interview for the vacant managerial job for the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the 2006 season. When the Dodgers settled on Grady Little for their manager position,Lovullo resumed managing in the Indians' organization as skipper of the Buffalo Bisons,the Tribe's Triple-A affiliate.
During Lovullo's playing career,he had spent all or parts of three seasons (1995;1997–98) as a player for the Bisons and won two championships:one in the American Association and one in the International League. In 2003,he also had received the highest honor awarded to an alumnus of Buffalo baseball,as he was inducted into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame,alongside his teammate from the 1997 and 1998 championship squads,Jeff Manto. In three campaigns (2006–08) as the Bisons' manager,he led the club to two winning records,and compiled a mark of 214–212. He also interviewed for the Pittsburgh Pirates' managerial vacancy after the 2007 season.
In 2009,the Indians changed their Triple-A affiliation from Buffalo to the Columbus (Ohio) Clippers of the International League. Lovullo had played for the Clippers in 1991–92 when the team was the Yankees' top farm club. The Clippers were the International League champions in both seasons Lovullo played in Columbus,winning back-to-back Governors' Cup trophies. In 2009,his only season as the Clippers' manager,the team compiled a 57–85 (.401) record,but Lovullo was recruited by the Boston Red Sox to take over their Triple-A team,the Pawtucket Red Sox,for 2010.[7] It was his first season in the Boston organization,although both Farrell (as pitching coach) and another former Cleveland farm system official,Mike Hazen (as director of player development),were playing key roles with the Red Sox. Lovullo's 2010 PawSox finished 66–78 (.458) and out of the playoffs,fourth in the Northern Division of the International League.
During his minor league managing career,Lovullo was named "Manager of the Year" in both the Carolina League (2004) and the Eastern League (2005). For the latter season,he also was named Double-A Manager of the Year by Baseball America.[6] His nine-year (2002–10) win–loss record as a minor league manager is 661–609 (.520).
Major league coach
Lovullo 2012
At the close of the 2010 season,Farrell,then considered a top Major League managerial candidate,was hired as the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays for 2011. He named Lovullo to his Toronto coaching staff on November 8,to replace Omar Malavé as the club's first-base coach.[8] Lovullo he served two seasons in that capacity.
After the 2012 season,the Red Sox began negotiations with the Blue Jays to release Farrell from his contract so that he could return to Boston as manager for 2013. Ultimately,the Red Sox acquired the rights to Farrell in an October 21 trade for infielderMike Avilés. Upon being named the Red Sox' manager,Farrell hired Lovullo on October 26,2012 as his bench coach.[9] After the Red Sox won the 2013 World Series,Lovullo was mentioned as a potential candidate to succeed Dale Sveum as manager of the Chicago Cubs for 2014,[10] but he returned as Boston's bench coach.[11] Then,upon the close of the 2014 season,Lovullo interviewed for managerial openings with the Texas Rangers[12] and Minnesota Twins[13] but was a runner-up in each case.
Interim manager
On August 11,2015,Farrell underwent hernia surgery,leaving Lovullo in charge of the team. Three days later,Farrell announced that during the surgery,it was found that he had Stage 1 lymphoma.[14] The Red Sox named Lovullo manager for the remainder of the 2015 season while Farrell underwent chemotherapy.[15]
The Red Sox showed a significant improvement in performance under Lovullo,scoring 37 runs in their first 2 games after he took over. The team had a win–loss record of 28–20 (.583) from August 14,2015,through the end of the season,better than the team's overall 78–84 record.[16][17] A high point came near the end of the season when the Red Sox posted a six-game winning streak and moved up to third place in the AL East. However,the team lost their last four games and ultimately finished at the bottom of their division for the second year in a row.[17]
On October 1,it was reported that,if healthy,Farrell would return to his position as Red Sox manager at the beginning of the 2016 season,[18] leaving Lovullo's position with the organization uncertain after his performance as interim manager.[19] It was announced on October 4 that Lovullo would resume his bench coach duties for the 2016 season on,with Farrell returning as manager. Lovullo was also given a two-year contract extension in exchange for forgoing his right to pursue managerial job offerings.[16] The 2016 season was Lovullo's fourth consecutive season with the Red Sox and his sixth straight overall as an aide to Farrell.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Mike Hazen,who had worked with Lovullo with both the Indians and Red Sox,was named the new general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks on October 16,2016. Almost three weeks later,on November 4,Hazen appointed Lovullo to replace Chip Hale as the Diamondbacks manager.[20] Hazen hired Lovullo over finalist Phil Nevin. In his first season as manager,Lovullo guided the team to the postseason,winning the National League (NL) Wild Card Game and finishing with a record of 93 wins and 69 losses,[21] a 24-game improvement for the team from 2016. For his efforts,Lovullo was named 2017 NL Manager of the Year.[22]
Lovullo at the Pentagon with the Diamondbacks in 2018
On April 7,2018,Lovullo was ejected in the second inning of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals after an argument with umpire Tim Timmons resulted in a fight with Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina,with Lovullo swearing in reference to Molina.[23] The Diamondbacks won that game,4–1,Lovullo's 100th managerial victory,making him the fastest manager in Diamondbacks history to win 100 games with the team. Lovullo and Molina were suspended for a game.[24]
In January 2019,Lovullo and the Diamondbacks agreed to a two-year contract extension,through the 2021 season.[25][26] The team announced a second extension for Lovullo on September 23,2021,through the 2022 season.[27][28]
On June 4,2023,after the Diamondbacks got out to a 35–24 record (tied for best in the NL),Lovullo was signed to a one–year extension that runs through the 2024 season.[29] Despite an 84–78 record,the team won the NL pennant and lost in the World Series. After the postseason,he signed a contract extension through 2026.[30]
Lovullo's father,Sam,was a producer of the long-running syndicated television country comedy variety show Hee Haw and its spinoff series Hee Haw Honeys. Sam was the producer of many other television shows and specials. Before his death in 2017,[31] Sam was the recipient of many awards for his innovative production methods in television. He also received many awards in his lifetime for his contributions to several organizations,including receiving the Italian Federation's man of the year award.[citation needed]
Lovullo has one daughter and two sons. Two children are from his first marriage and his youngest child is from his current marriage.[32] His son Nick Lovullo played baseball professionally as an infielder from 2013–2021 and is now the manager of the South Bend Cubs of the High-A Midwest League.[33][34]
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