Bob Melvin #2

Bob Melvin begins his second full season as manager of the Oakland A's after being named interim manager, June 9, 2011. He has a 141-120 (.540) record in one-plus season with the A's and now has a mark of 634-628 (.502) in nine seasons as a Major League manager, including stints with the Seattle Mariners (2003-04) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2005-09). Melvin's first full season was a memorable one as he guided the A's to a 94-68 record and a first place finish in the American League West. The A's became the fifth team in Major League history to win a Pennant or Division after trailing by 13 or more games and the first to comeback when trailing by five or more games with fewer than 10 games remaining. His 2012 club employed 19 rookies, including 12 pitchers that combined for 54 wins, which are the most by rookies on any team in Major League history. Following the season, Melvin was named the 2012 AL Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He became only the second manager in Oakland history (Tony La Russa, 1988 and 1992) to win the award. Melvin also became only the 14th manager in MLB history to win the award at least twice in a career, and just the sixth manager to win the award in both leagues. Melvin guided the A's to a 47-52 (.475) record in 2011 after Oakland started the season 27-36 (.429). The Bay Area native signed a three-year contract through the 2014 season, Sept. 21, 2011 and a two-year extension through 2016, Jan. 14, 2013. He is the 29th manager in franchise history and the 17th in Oakland history. In his previous managerial stint, he guided Arizona to a 337-340 (.498) record in four-plus seasons. He was named manager of the D-backs Nov. 5, 2004 and led the club to a 77-85 mark in his first season, a 26-game turnaround from a franchise-worst 51-111 mark in 2004. After a 76-86 finish in 2006, Melvin was named National League Manager of the Year by the BBWAA in 2007 after guiding Arizona to a league-best 90-72 record. He also earned NL Manager of the Year honors from The Sporting News and the Negro League Baseball Museum's C.I. Taylor Legacy Award. The Diamondbacks followed up their NL West title with a second-place finish in 2008, finishing 82-80. Melvin became the winningest manager in Arizona history that season when he earned his 304th win Aug. 14, surpassing Bob Brenly. Melvin was relieved of his duties as D-backs manager May 8, 2009 after a 12-17 start. Prior to being named A's manager, Melvin had rejoined the Diamondbacks as a special baseball advisor to President & CEO Derrick Hall in May of 2011, assisting the baseball operations department and other business divisions of the organization. He was a professional scout for the New York Mets in 2010. Melvin began his managerial career in 2003, guiding to the Mariners to a 93-69 record in shattering the team record for wins by a first-year Mariners manager set by Lou Piniella in 1993 (82-80). His 93 wins also tied for the 15th-most by any rookie manager in Major League history at the time. The Mariners then fell to 63-99 in 2004 and he left Seattle with a 156-168 (.481) record in two seasons. Melvin began his coaching career as Manager Phil Garner's bench coach from 1999-2000, first with the Brewers in 1999 and then in 2000 with the Tigers. While with the Brewers, he also managed the Maryvale team in the Arizona Fall League in 1999. He then served as Bob Brenly's bench coach with the D-backs from 2001-02 when the club won back-to-back NL West titles and the World Series in 2001. Prior to those bench coach roles, he spent three seasons with Milwaukee in various capacities, serving as a scout in 1996, roving instructor in 1997 and as assistant to General Manager Sal Bando in 1998. A 10-year Major League veteran, Melvin's playing career included stops in Detroit (1985), San Francisco (1986-88), Baltimore (1989-91), Kansas City (1992), Boston (1993), the New York Yankees (1994) and the Chicago White Sox (1994). He posted a .233 batting average with 35 home runs and 212 RBI while playing in 692 games. The former catcher was drafted by Detroit as its first choice in the secondary phase of the 1981 January draft and hit .220 in 41 games in his rookie season of 1985. Melvin spent the next three seasons sharing the catching duties with Bob Brenly for the Giants, hitting a career-high 11 home runs in 1987. After three seasons in Baltimore, he batted a career-high .314 in 32 games with Kansas City in 1992. Melvin graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School in Menlo Park, Calif. in 1979 and later attended and played baseball at the University of California in Berkeley. He and his wife, Kelly, reside in Lower Manhattan, NY. Their daughter, Alexi, is a recent graduate of the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute in New York.