Bob Apodaca

Robert John Apodaca

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 170 lb.
• School Cerritos College, California State College, Los Angeles
• High School Warren High School (Downey)
• Debut September 18, 1973
• Final Game September 18, 1977
• Born January 31, 1950 in Los Angeles, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Bob Apodaca spent his entire playing career in the New York Mets organization. Arm injuries forced him to miss the entire 1978 and 1980 seasons, and in 1979, he was only able to make 2 starts in AAA. He had been an effective reliever before that, with his best season coming in 1975, when he was 3-4, 1.49 with 13 saves in 36 games with the Mets. He was a third baseman in high school before moving to the mound while at Cerritos College.

After retiring in 1981, he spent over a decade as a coach in the Mets farm system. Apodaca was the pitching coach for the Little Falls Mets (1981), Jackson Mets (1982-1983), Columbia Mets (1984-1987), St. Lucie Mets (1988), Jackson again (1989-1990) and Tidewater/Norfolk Tides (1991-1996) before graduating to the big league Mets upon the ascension of Bobby Valentine (mid-1996 to 1999).

Apodaca moved on to the Milwaukee Brewers as pitching coach in 2000-2001. He returned to the Mets as pitching coach at St. Lucie in 2002. From 2003 to 2012, he was the Colorado Rockies' pitching coach. He resigned from the job on June 26, 2012, with the Rockies' starters struggling tremendously while he was unable to come up with solutions to right the situation. General Manager Dan O'Dowd accepted his resignation and reassigned him to a special assistant position within the organization. He returned to the field as pitching coach of the Boise Hawks in 2017-2018.