George Bamberger
From BR Bullpen
George Irvin Bamberger (Bambi)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.
- Debut April 19, 1951
- Final Game April 22, 1959
- Born August 1, 1923 in Staten Island, NY USA
- Died April 4, 2004 in North Redington Beach, FL USA
[edit] Biographical Information
After serving in the army in World War II, pitcher George Bamberger went on to win 213 games in the minors but only appeared in ten big league games with the New York Giants and Baltimore Orioles. From July 10 to August 14 1958, Bamberger pitched 68 2/3 innings without issuing a walk.
Bamberger was a player/coach for the Vancouver Mounties (1960-1962) and Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers (1963), and an Orioles minor league pitching instructor (1964-1967). However, he gained his greatest fame as the Orioles pitching coach from 1968 to 1977. During his tenure, the O's produced four Cy Young Award winners and 18 twenty game winners. In 1978, he left the Orioles to become the Milwaukee Brewers manager and led the club to their first winning season that year. He suffered a heart attack during spring training in 1980 and retired as the Brewers skipper after the season, but Bamberger returned to baseball in 1982 as the manager of the New York Mets. He served another stint as Brewers manager from 1985 to 1986.
Bamberger's first tenure of service in Milwaukee coincided with the emergence of the Brewers as serious contenders. Although Bamberger had gained fame in Baltimore as an outstanding pitching coach, the Brewers teams he managed were built around power. Bamberger managed such players as Hall-of-Famers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, and other leading hitters of the day such as home-run champion Gorman Thomas, Cecil Cooper and Ben Oglivie. The 1978-1980 team acquired the nickname "Bambi's Bombers," in honor of the manager who led them.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- ML Manager of the Year Award (1978)
| Preceded by Alex Grammas | Milwaukee Brewers Manager 1978-1980 | Succeeded by Buck Rodgers |
| Preceded by Joe Torre | New York Mets Manager 1982-1983 | Succeeded by Frank Howard |
| Preceded by Rene Lachemann | Milwaukee Brewers Manager 1985-1986 | Succeeded by Tom Trebelhorn |
