- Stan Wasiak
Stanley Wasiak (
April 8 ,1920 –November 20 ,1992 ) was an American manager inminor league baseball who, by the time of his retirement, held the record for most games managed (4,844), most victories (2,530) and most defeats (2,114) as a skipper in the minor leagues.A native of
Chicago, Illinois , Wasiak was acatcher in his playing days. In 1950, he was named playing manager of theValdosta, Georgia , "Dodgers" of the Class DGeorgia-Florida League . He led the team to a second-place, 81-56 record – one half game behind theAlbany, Georgia , "Cardinals." Wasiak's Valdosta team came back in 1951 to win the league pennant by five games.Wasiak spent the vast majority of his managing career in the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers'
farm system , although he briefly worked for theDetroit Tigers andChicago White Sox . He managed in the AAAPacific Coast League from 1973-76 as skipper of theAlbuquerque Dukes , the Dodgers' top minor league affiliate, winning a division title in 1974. But most of his assignments came below the AA level.Officially, Wasiak managed for 37 consecutive seasons (1950-86) in the minors. However, in 1982, in the middle of a seven-year term as skipper of the
Vero Beach Dodgers of the Class AFlorida State League , he was sidelined by illness for almost the entire season. But Wasiak was able to manage one game on August 24, keeping his skein alive. When he retired after '86 campaign, he had compiled a career winning percentage of .522. Although his minor-league accomplishments were well-known throughout the game, Wasiak never officially appeared in aMajor League Baseball uniform as a coach or manager.He died at age 72 in
Mobile, Alabama .References
*Lloyd Johnson, ed., "The Minor League Register." Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1994.
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