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Cecil Celester Cooper (born December 20, 1949 in Brenham, Texas), nicknamed "Coop," is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball and the former manager of the Houston Astros.[1] From 1971 through 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. He was #17 with the Boston Red Sox.
Cooper was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 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 back to Boston.
A five-time All-Star, Cooper hit .300 or more from 1977 to 1983. His most productive season came in 1980, when he hit a career-high .352 (finishing second in the American League behind batting champion George Brett's .390 average for 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, 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 holds the Milwaukee franchise records for hits (219 in 1980). Cooper held the team record for RBI in a season with 126 until Prince Fielder broke that record on September 19, 2009 against the Houston Astros, who Cooper was managing at the time. 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 2002 and also managed the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians in 2003-04. He returned to the major league coaching ranks in 2005 as a bench coach for the Houston Astros.
On August 27, 2007, he was named the interim manager of the Astros following the firing of Phil Garner, making him the first African American field manager in Astros' history. Cooper's 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, 2007, Cooper's interim tag was dropped and he became the Astros' 16th manager. Cooper was released as Astros manager on September 21, 2009.[1]
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
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| HOU | 2007 | 15 | 16 | .484 | 4th in NL Central | - | - | - | |
| 2008 | 86 | 75 | .534 | 3rd in NL Central | - | - | - | - | |
| 2009 | 70 | 79 | .470 | 4th in NL Central | - | - | - | - | |
| Total | 171 | 170 | .501 | ||||||
See 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
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Astros ax Cooper; Clark takes over", Associated Press via ESPN.com, 2009-09-21. Retrieved on 2009-09-21.
External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
- Baseball-reference.com – Major league career managerial statistics
- Houston Astros biography
- BaseballLibrary
| Preceded by: Don Baylor Hal McRae |
American League RBI Champion 1980 1983 (with Jim Rice) |
Succeeded by: Eddie Murray Tony Armas |
| Preceded by: Phil Garner |
Houston Astros manager 2007-2009 |
Succeeded by: Dave Clark |