Jerry Austin Narron (born January 15, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager, coach, and former player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily as a catcher, for three teams during 1979–87. He has served as manager for the Texas Rangers (2001–02) and the Cincinnati Reds (2005–07).

He was the third base coach for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Narron was also a coach for Team Israel, under manager Ian Kinsler, when it competed in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Early years

Narron was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He is a Christian Zionist. His father John was employed as a salesman and floor layer for the Isaacs-Kahn Furniture Company in Goldsboro. He is a nephew of former major league catcher and longtime coach Sam Narron.

Through his childhood he played baseball at the Wayne County Boys Club. He attended Goldsboro High School, where he played baseball, basketball, and football, and graduated in 1974. He went to college at East Carolina University.

Playing career

He was drafted out of high school when he was 18 years old by the New York Yankees in the sixth round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft. He played alongside brother Johnny for the Johnson City Cardinals in the Rookie Appalachian League during his first professional season in 1974, batting .301/.415/.487 with 15 doubles (3rd in the league), 7 home runs (10th), and 49 RBIs (6th).

He made his major league debut on April 13, 1979. and remained in the dugout during the pregame ceremonies, leaving the catcher's position empty, out of respect for Munson.

In November 1979 Narron was traded by the Yankees to the Seattle Mariners with Juan Beniquez, Rick Anderson, and Jim Beattie for Jim Lewis and Ruppert Jones. He was released by the Angels in April 1987, and signed later that month by the Seattle Mariners, who in turn released him the following November. He retired as a player in 1989.

Managing and coaching history

Minor and major leagues

Narron was a manager in the Baltimore Orioles farm system from 1989 through 1992; of the Single–A Frederick Keys (1989), Double–A Hagerstown Suns (1990-91), and Triple–A Rochester Red Wings (1992), with a record of 291-269 (.520).

Narron was hired to be the 2017 manager of the Reno Aces on December 30, 2016.

After the first seven games of the 2017 season, Narron took over as interim bench coach of the major league Arizona Diamondbacks, when bench coach Ron Gardenhire left the team on a leave of absence to have and recover from prostate cancer surgery. Narron got the job permanently after Gardenhire was hired to be the Detroit Tigers' manager. Narron stepped down from his position as bench coach of the Diamondbacks following the 2019 season.

Narron was hired as bench coach for the Boston Red Sox on February 22, 2020. In October 2020, the team declined to renew his contract.

On February 10, 2021, Narron was hired as a major league instructor for the Chicago White Sox. On November 2, 2022, Narron and the White Sox parted ways.

In November 2023, Narron was hired as the catching coach for the Los Angeles Angels.

Team Israel; World Baseball Classic

Narron was the third base coach for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier. Narron, whose daughter Callie lives in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem, Israel, with her husband and two children, said: "I love the game, I love the Jewish people and I love Israel".

Narron was again a coach for Team Israel, under manager Ian Kinsler, when it competed in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Managerial records

{| class="wikitable" Style="text-align: center"

|-

!rowspan="2"|Team!!rowspan="2"|From!!rowspan="2"|To!!colspan="4"|Regular season record!!colspan="4"|Post–season record

|-

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

|-

|Texas Rangers||2001||2002

|296|||

|colspan="4"| —

|-

|Cincinnati Reds||2005||2007

|337|||

|colspan="4"| —

|-

! colspan="3"| Total

! 632

!

! 0

!

|-

! colspan="11"| Reference:

|}

Personal life

Narron is married to Donna Narron. Narron's brother Johnny was the hitting coach for the Milwaukee Brewers from 2012 to 2014.

Narron is known for writing out lineup cards using a distinct form of calligraphy, and for rendering the names of players from Japan, Korea and Taiwan in their native scripts on the lineup cards.

References

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