Duane Espy
Duane Grant Espy
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 210 lb.
- High School Santa Monica High School
- Born June 23, 1952 in Aberdeen, WA USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Duane Espy was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 7th round of the 1970 amateur draft and played in the minor leagues for eight seasons (1971-1978).
After his playing career ended, Espy managed in the minors for the Brewers from 1979 to 1982.
Joining the San Francisco Giants, Espy managed the Shreveport Captains (1983-1985) and coached the Phoenix Firebirds (1986-1987). Espy managed in the Giants' farm system again from 1988 to 1991, and was the team's minor league hitting coordinator in 1992. Espy was the hitting coach for the Firebirds in 1993-1994 before leaving the Giants organization.
Espy moved to the division rival San Diego Padres organization and served as a minor league hitting instructor from 1995 to 1999. He started 2000 as manager of the Las Vegas Stars, but was promoted to the Padres major league staff on May 30th to replace Ben Oglivie as hitting coach. Espy remained the Padres hitting coach through the 2002 season. In a somewhat unusual move, Espy managed the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) after the 2001 season. Usually, minor league managers and coaches fill the AFL staff positions.
The Colorado Rockies hired Espy in 2003 and he held a number of positions through the remainder of his coaching career. Espy was the Rockies hitting coach from 2003 to 2006. In 2007, Espy was a hitting coach for the Casper Rockies and in 2008-2010 he moved up to the Modesto Nuts in the same role. He returned to managing in 2011-2012 as skipper of the Tulsa Drillers. In 2013, the Rockies added a "development supervisor"[1] position for each of its minor league affiliates. Espy was tabbed for the Drillers in that role. He held the same position with the Tri-City Dust Devils in 2014. In 2015, he was named the organization's minor league hitting coordinator. In 2017, Espy began a second stint as hitting coach of the Rockies, but was let go after 2018 when the Rockies posted the lowest batting average in franchise history - but still managed to make the postseason for the second straight year.
Espy's son, Dean Espy, was on the UCLA squad that went to the 2010 College World Series.
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