Cecil Cooper

Infobox MLB retired
name=Cecil Cooper
position=First baseman / Manager
bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1949|12|20
city-state|Brenham|Texas
debutdate=September 8
debutyear=by|1971
debutteam=Boston Red Sox
finaldate=July 12
finalyear=by|1987
finalteam=Milwaukee Brewers
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.298
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=241
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=1,125
teams= As Player
* Boston Red Sox (by|1971-by|1976)
* Milwaukee Brewers (by|1977-by|1987)As Manager
* Houston Astros (by|2007-present)
highlights=
* 5x All-Star selection (1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985)
* 2x Gold Glove Award winner (1979, 1980)
* 3x Silver Slugger Award winner (1980, 1981, 1982)
* 1983 Roberto Clemente Award

Cecil Celester Cooper (born December 20 1949 in Brenham, Texas), nicknamed "Coop," is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball and the current manager of the Houston Astros. From by|1971 through by|1987, Cooper played for the Boston Red Sox (1971-76) and Milwaukee Brewers (1977-87). He batted and threw left-handed.

Career

In a 17-season career, Cooper posted a .298 batting average with 241 home runs and 1125 runs batted in in 1896 games.

Cooper was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the by|1968 draft and made his major league debut with the Red Sox in 1972. Before the 1977 season, he was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers in the same trade that brought George Scott to Boston.

A five-time All-Star, Cooper hit .300 or more from by|1977 to by|1983. His most productive season came in by|1980, when he hit a career-high .352, finishing second in the American League behind batting champion George Brett (.390) of the Kansas City Royals, and he also led the league in RBI (122) and total bases (335).

In 1983 Cooper hit .307 with 30 home runs and a league-leading and career-high 126 RBI. He also posted three seasons with 200-plus hits, in 1980, by|1982 and 1983, finished fifth in the AL MVP vote, and was named the Brewers' team MVP in three seasons (1980, 1982-83). An excellent defensive first baseman, he was a two-time Gold Glove winner (1979-80); he also won the Silver Slugger Award in three straight years (1980-82).

Cooper concluded his major league career with 11 seasons as a Brewer, including an appearance in the 1982 World Series. Cooper still holds the Milwaukee franchise records for both hits (219 in 1980) and RBI in a season (126 in 1983). In 1983 he was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award, and in 2002 he was inducted into the Brewers Walk of Fame.

Following the conclusion of his playing career, he worked in several capacities in the Brewers organization. He was named bench coach for Milwaukee in by|2002 and also managed the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians in by|2003-04. He returned to the major league coaching ranks in by|2005 as a bench coach for the Houston Astros.

On August 27, by|2007, he was named the interim manager of the Astros following the firing of Phil Garner. Cooper's only previous managerial experience was at Class AAA Indianapolis, the Milwaukee Brewers' top farm club. Cooper had a record of 130-156, finishing fourth in 2003 and third in 2004.

On September 28, by|2007, Cooper's interim tag was dropped, and announced as the Astros 16th manager, making him the first African American field manager in Astros' history. He lives now in Katy, TX with his wife Octavia and daughter Tori. He has two other grown daughters, Kelly and Brittany.

Managerial records

Updated Through September 9, 2008

ee also

* List of major league players with 2,000 hits
* Top 500 home run hitters of all time
* List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
* List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
* List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
* Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
* List of Major League Baseball managers in 2007
* List of Major League Baseball managers in 2008

External links

*baseball-reference|id=c/coopece01
* [http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=hou&coachorstaffid=112651 Houston Astros biography]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/C/Cooper_Cecil.stm BaseballLibrary]