CLEVELAND — Pat Corrales, a "baseball lifer" who managed the Cleveland Indians throughout the mid-1980s, has died.
The Guardians organization confirmed Corrales' passing Monday afternoon. He was 82 years old.
A native of California, Corrales led the Tribe to a 280-355 record over parts of five seasons from 1983-87. He also managed the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies and later developed a sterling reputation as a coach.
Prior to his career on the bench, Corrales played nine years in the big leagues as a backup catcher for the Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds (for whom he played in the 1970 World Series), and San Diego Padres before retiring in 1973. He eventually joined the staff in Texas before being named manager with one game remaining in 1976, staying on as skipper through each of the next two seasons and becoming the first MLB manager of Mexican-American descent.
In 1982, Corrales was hired as Philly's manager after the championship winning Dallas Green left to lead the Chicago Cubs' front office. Corrales would pilot the Phils to an 89-73 record that year, but in 1983 was fired after a pedestrian 43-42 start to the campaign, even though the team was tied for first place in the National League East at the time. General manager Paul Owens stepped in to replace him for the remainder of the season and was able to right the ship, guiding the Phillies to the NL pennant.
Less than two weeks after being axed by Philadelphia, Corrales arrived in Cleveland to replace Mike Ferraro, who had been fired after just 100 games on the job. Corrales posted a respectable record of 30-32 down the stretch and, following two mediocre years that included 102 losses in 1985, appeared to have the Indians on the come up.
The 1986 Tribe finished the season 84-78, and while that would be nothing special for most clubs, at the time it was the struggling franchise's best mark in 21 years. Young stars like Joe Carter and Cory Snyder were beginning to emerge, so much so that prior to 1987 Sports Illustrated did what many previously felt unthinkable: pick the Indians to win the American League championship (although this may have been more for publicity that anything).
On July 1, 1986, Corrales also forever etched his name into baseball lore thanks to an infamous confrontation with Oakland Athletics pitcher Dave Stewart. After Stewart threw at Cleveland's Julio Franco, Corrales, — a brown belt in karate — charged the mound and attempted to kick the right-hander before Stewart punched him to the ground. The benches cleared, with Stewart and both managers being ejected following the melee.
"Wasn't a very smart move, but I had to do it," Corrales told reporters after the game, which the Tribe won 9-0. "I'm going to protect my players."
Corrales certainly had the respect of those players, but unfortunately, that was as good as things would get for the team. Despite SI's lofty expectations, the Indians fell apart in 1987 to finish dead last in the AL East with a 61-101 record. Corrales would be put out of his misery before it was over, having been dismissed in favor of Doc Edwards after a 31-56 start.
Corrales would never manage again, finishing his career with a record of 572-634 with no playoff appearances. However, he would stay in the game and earn praise for his role as Atlanta's bench coach from 1990-2006, serving has Hall of Famer Bobby Cox's right-hand man over the course of 14 straight division titles, five NL pennants, and a 1995 World Series championship (which, ironically, came against Cleveland). He also coached for the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals, along with a recent stint in the Los Angeles Dodgers' front office.
A cause of death for Corrales has not been made public. He is survived by his wife Heidyt as well as four children with his first wife Sharon, who died in 1969 following complications from a blood clot.
