Ralph Dickenson

Ralph D Dickenson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
• School Mesa State College, Arizona State University
• High School Bellingham High School

• Born March 22, 1948 in Nanaimo, BC CAN

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

OF/P Ralph Dick/Dickenson was drafted in the 30th round of the 1968 amateur draft by the San Francisco Giants and the 1st round of the secondary phase of the 1969 amateur draft by the Minnesota Twins. He played minor league ball from 1969-1974 in the Twins chain, never advancing above A ball.

In 1969, Ralph hit .192/.256/.238 as an outfielder with the Red Springs Twins, producing just 16 runs in 50 games. He split 1970 between the St. Cloud Rox and Wisconsin Rapids Twins, improving to a composite .260 between the two stops. In '71, he batted .302 between the Orlando Twins and Auburn Twins, in limited action afield. He also pitched, going 7-5 with a 4.46 ERA for Auburn. He tied for 5th in the New York-Penn League in wins but also led in hits allowed (114), runs allowed (64) and tied for the most earned runs allowed (51).

Dickenson improved to 3-2 with a save and a 1.72 ERA in 16 games pitched for the 1972 Lynchburg Twins while hitting .280/.357/.360 in 200 at-bats. He fielded .970 in the outfield as a fine two-way player. With Lynchburg in '73, he was 8-8 with seven saves and a 3.10 ERA in 41 outings. Had he qualified, he would have been 8th in the Carolina League in ERA. He wrapped up his playing career still with Lynchburg in 1974, going 11-6 with four saves a 2.98 ERA in 56 games. He was 8th in the Carolina League in ERA, the only regularly-used reliever to make the top 10.

After leaving the Twins organization, Dickenson was the head coach at Western Washington University in 1975-1978. He was the pitching coach for the Bellingham Dodgers in 1976 and managed the Grays Harbor Loggers in 1977. He also got into three games for the Loggers, getting a hit in his trip to the plate and losing his decision on the mound.

Dickenson was an assistant coach at Washington State University from 1978 to 1986 and the University of New Mexico in 1987. During this period, Dickenson often coached or managed summer collegiate league teams. He was the head coach for the Dodge City Athletics of the Jayhawk League in 1980-1981. Dickenson moved to the rival Hutchinson Broncos in 1983-1984 as an assistant coach. He switched to the Alaska Summer Collegiate League for the 1985-1986 seasons as an assistant coach with the Anchorage Bucs.

In 1988, Dickenson moved from the college ranks to coaching and managing in professional baseball. Over the next 30+ years he worked with a number of major league organizations. The Seattle Mariners were the first to hire him to manage the San Bernardino Spirit. After two years as skipper, Dickenson worked as Seattle's Minor League Hitting Coordinator from 1990-1992.

Dickenson next joined the Milwaukee Brewers player development system. He was the manager of the AZL Brewers from 1993-1995 before spending the 1996-1997 seasons as the Brewers' Minor League Hitting Coordinator. Dickenson switched roles again in 1998 and served three years as Milwaukee's Minor League Field Coordinator. After the 1998 season, he served as a bench coach for the Maryvale Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League.

Dickenson changed organizations frequently over the next dozen years. He was the Minor League Hitting Coordinator for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2001 before holding the same position with the Montreal Expos in 2002 and the Texas Rangers in 2003-2004. Dickenson next joined the New York Yankees organization and coached hitters for the Tampa Yankees in 2005 and Trenton Thunder in 2006. Dickenson's next stop was the Washington Nationals where he worked as the team's Minor League Hitting Coordinator from 2007-2009. He spent the next three years coaching in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system. He was the hitting coach for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2010 and Dunedin Blue Jays in 2011-2012.

He spent the remainder of his coaching career in the Houston Astros organization in various roles. He started as the Astros Minor League Hitting Coordinator in 2013. In 2014, he was appointed assistant hitting coach of the big league team, his first major league job. It lasted for only one season, however. Dickenson was a Minor League Hitting Instructor in 2015 and hitting coach for the Fresno Grizzlies in 2016. Dickenson returned to the Minor League Hitting Instructor role in 2017. He worked out of the Astros spring training complex in 2018 as a hitting coach. He may have repeated this role in 2019 to complete his coaching career.

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1977	Grays Harbor Loggers	Northwest League	22-44	5th	none
1988	San Bernardino Spirit	California League	74-68	5th	Seattle Mariners
1989	San Bernardino Spirit	California League	83-59	2nd	Seattle Mariners	Lost in 1st round
1993	AZL Brewers	Arizona League	29-27	5th	Milwaukee Brewers	none
1994	AZL Brewers	Arizona League	32-24	3rd	Milwaukee Brewers	none
1995	AZL Brewers	Arizona League	34-22	3rd	Milwaukee Brewers	none

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