MLB News: Former World Series Champion Outfielder, Coach Dies at 81

Merv Rettenmund, who played for four major league teams over parts of 13 seasons and later won a second World Series ring as a coach, has died according to multiple reports. He was 81.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Rettenmund had been battling cancer.

Rettenmund first came to fame as an outfielder on the Baltimore Orioles teams that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969-71. He appeared in only two of the five games as the Orioles beat the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970 World Series, but went 2 for 5 with a home run in the series-clinching Game 5 victory.

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Over parts of six seasons in Baltimore (1968-72), Rettenmund slashed .284/.383/.436. He finished his career as a reserve outfielder and pinch hitter with the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, and California Angels, retiring in 1980. Rettenmund also played for the Reds’ championship team in 1975, making three hitless plate appearances in the World Series.

As a coach, Rettenmund’s career included stops with the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Padres, Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays, and Detroit Tigers. He was the hitting coach of the A’s team that swept the San Francisco Giants in the earthquake-interrupted, four-game Bay Bridge World Series.

After playing both baseball and football at Ball State, Rettenmund was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL but instead signed with the Orioles in 1964. Rettenmund hit .331 with 22 home runs for Triple-A Rochester in 1968, and was named International League MVP and Minor League Player of the Year.

The next year, Rettenmund reached the major leagues for good. He hit .322 with 18 homers for the O’s in 1970 for the eventual World Series champions. The next year, he hit .318 and finished third in the American League in batting average.

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Rettenmund went 1 for 11 in the 1973 American League Championship Series, which the Orioles lost to the A’s, and got a fresh start when he was traded to the Reds after the season.

In Cincinnati, Rettenmund began his career transition into a part-time role player and pinch hitter off the bench. After signing with the Angels for the 1978 season, Rettenmund hit the first pinch hit grand slam in team history on May 6.

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After retiring as a player in 1980, Rettenmund joined the Angels’ coaching staff under manager Jim Fregosi, kicking off a three-decade career as a major league coach. Twice, his teams reached the World Series — Oakland in 1989, San Diego in 1998 — and finished his coaching career with the Padres in 2008.

According to Rettenmund’s biography on SABR.org published in 2012, he spent his retirement taking trips around the world with his wife, spending time with his grandchildren, giving private hitting instruction to San Diego area youth, and attending Padres games at Petco Park.

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