Iván DeJesús

Note: This page refers to the father. For the son, see here. For the Venezuelan national team member, see here

Iván DeJesús Alvarez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Gabriela Mistral High School, Margarita Janer High School
• Debut September 13, 1974
• Final Game July 15, 1988
• Born January 9, 1953 in Santurce, P.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Shortstop Iván DeJesús was known by Puerto Rican fans as "El Pulpo", the Octopus, for his fielding abilities. Highly touted as a shortstop in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization (he was signed by scout Corito Varona), DeJesús was blocked by Bill Russell. Traded to the Chicago Cubs in 1977, DeJesús put in several creditable seasons with the Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. Although not an outstanding hitter, he was a good handler of the bat who did not embarrass himself at the plate.

DeJesús recorded the first cycle of the 1980s, turning the feat on April 22, 1980, for the Cubs against the St. Louis Cardinals

Iván played for the Caguas Creoles, Arecibo Wolves and Santurce Crabbers of the Puerto Rico Winter Baseball League.

In 1989, DeJesús played for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He hit .333 in 14 games with the club.

After his playing career, DeJesús was a minor league manager and coach. He started as a player/coach with the Toledo Mud Hens in 1989. After managing for three seasons, he was a hitting coach for the Jacksonville Suns in 1993, the Osceola Astros in 1994, and bench coach of the Kissimmee Cobras in 1995-1997. DeJesús spent the next two seasons working as the Astros Minor League Infield & Baserunning Coordinator. He returned to Kissimmee for a fourth season in 2000, again as a bench coach. DeJesús then served as a minor league manager for the Astros through 2006.

The Cubs brought DeJesús back to Chicago in 2007 as a Special Assistant to manager Lou Piniella and he remained in this role through 2009. DeJesús returned to on-field coaching in 2010. He started as the team's first base coach before moving to the third base coaching box on August 23rd. DeJesús remained in the latter position in 2011. In 2012, he rejoined the Astros organization and finished his coaching & managing career as the Lexington Legends skipper.

In addition to his work in the United States, DeJesús coached internationally. He started as the third base coach for the Santurce Crabbers during the 1998/1999 Puerto Rican Winter League season. DeJesús managed the 2000/2001 Leones de Ponce and 2005/2006 Lobos de Arecibo. He might have been the 2008/2009 Gigantes de Carolina hitting coach, but his could not be confirmed via English language sources. DeJesús was a coach for Puerto Rico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and 2009 World Baseball Classic tournaments.

He is the father of Iván DeJesús Jr.

Notable Achievements

• NL Runs Scored Leader (1978)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1978)

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1990	GCL Dodgers	Gulf Coast League	38-25	2nd	Los Angeles Dodgers	League Champs
1991	GCL Dodgers	Gulf Coast League	29-31	10th	Los Angeles Dodgers
1992	San Bernardino Spirit	California League	52-84	9th	Seattle Mariners
2001	Pittsfield Astros	New York-Penn League	45-30	4th	Houston Astros
2002	Tri-City ValleyCats	New York-Penn League	27-48	13th	Houston Astros
2003	Tri-City ValleyCats	New York-Penn League	44-32	5th	Houston Astros
2004	Lexington Legends	South Atlantic League	67-72	11th	Houston Astros
2005	Salem Avalanche	Carolina League	67-74	5th	Houston Astros
2006	Greeneville Astros	Appalachian League	34-33	4th (t)	Houston Astros
2012	Lexington Legends	South Atlantic League	69-69	7th	Houston Astros