Gary Allenson
Gary Allenson with U.S. Navy Captain Kevin O'Flaherty
Catcher
Born: (1955-02-04) February 4, 1955 (age 60) Culver City, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 8, 1979 for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
August 23, 1985 for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
Batting average	.221
Home runs	19
Runs batted in	131
Teams
Boston Red Sox (1979–1984) Toronto Blue Jays (1985)

Gary Martin Allenson (born February 4, 1955) is an American minor league baseball manager and a former Major League catcher and coach. Currently the manager of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons of the International League,^[1] he has been a member of the Toronto Blue Jays organization since January 7, 2013.^[2]

Playing career[edit]

Nicknamed "Muggsy," Allenson was born in Culver City, California, and graduated from nearby Lawndale High School. He played college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils, then was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round of the 1976 amateur draft.

During his rookie 1979 season in the Majors, Allenson was the Red Sox' most-used starting catcher, filling in for injured veteran and future Baseball Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk. For the remainder of his playing tenure (1979–85) in the Major Leagues, however, he was a backup for the Red Sox (through 1984) and Blue Jays (1985). The 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 185 lb (84 kg) Allenson batted and threw right-handed. In a seven-season MLB career, he posted a .221 batting average with 235 hits, 19 home runs and 131 RBI in 416 games played.

Coaching/managing career[edit]

Allenson began his minor league managerial career in 1987 with the Oneonta Yankees of the New York Yankees farm system. Compiling an 89–62 record in two years, he led the team to the New York – Penn League championship in 1988. He returned to the Red Sox organization in 1989, first managing at Lynchburg for two seasons (128–146) and then New Britain for one (47–93). He was promoted to Boston, serving as bullpen coach in 1992 and 1993 and third-base coach in 1994.^[3]

He returned to the minors in 1996, managing the Charleston RiverDogs, then a Texas Rangers affiliate, to a 63–78 record. He moved on to the Houston Astros farm system the following year to pilot the Jackson Generals to a 66–73 mark. He spent the next five campaigns in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, the first two leading Louisville, known as the Redbirds in 1998 and the RiverBats in 1999, to a combined 140–148. He was brought up to Milwaukee, where he was the first-base coach in 2000 and the third-base coach in 2001 and 2002.^[3]

A 77–57 campaign in 2005 at the helm of the Carolina Mudcats, then a Florida Marlins affiliate, was sandwiched in between two stints in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He piloted the Ottawa Lynx to a 79–65 finish in 2003. After a 31–37 year as skipper of the Bluefield Orioles in 2006, he returned to the International League to manage the Norfolk Tides to a combined 228–254 in a little over 3⅓ seasons.^[3] Allenson was promoted to Baltimore as its third-base coach on June 4, 2010, when Juan Samuel was promoted to interim manager upon the firing of Dave Trembley.^[4] Allenson returned to manage the Tides in 2011^[5] then was the 2012 manager of the Aberdeen IronBirds, the Orioles' Short Season-Class A affiliate.^[6]

Allenson rejoined the Toronto organization in 2013 as manager of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Jays' Double-A Eastern League affiliate in Manchester, New Hampshire.^[2] After leading the Fisher Cats to a 68–72 mark that season, he was promoted to Buffalo, where his club went 77–66 in 2014, his first season.

Though 2014, Allenson had compiled a 1,176–1,286 (.478) record over 20 seasons as a minor league manager.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)