Jeff Newman

Jeffrey Lynn Newman (born September 11, 1948) is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman. Newman was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 26th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 1976 and was an All-Star in 1979. He later served as the interim manager of the Oakland Athletics in 1986.

Early and personal life Newman was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and is Jewish. He attended Paschal High School, where he played baseball and basketball. He later lived in Danville, California. In his sophomore year after batting .350 he was All-Southwest Conference First Team and All NCAA All-District First Team as well as NCAA All American Third Team, and in 1969 as a junior he batted .345, set university records in RBIs (44) and hits (57), and was All-Conference and All-District First Team. For the season, he hit 22 home runs and drove in 71 runs, both career highs. The A's won the first half of the strike shortened season with a 37–23 record to return to the postseason for the first time since . In 1981 he also threw out 46.4% of attempted base-stealers, fifth-best of all catchers in the American League.

Boston Red Sox When the Red Sox originally acquired Newman in 1982, it was with the intent that he would be the back-up to Rich Gedman behind the plate. However, he soon fell to third in the depth chart behind Gary Allenson. He was released during spring training in April .

Coaching and managerial career As soon as his playing days ended, Newman returned to the Oakland A's as manager Jackie Moore's bullpen coach. When Moore was fired as A's manager on June 28, , Newman was named interim manager prior to the hiring of Tony La Russa. The A's went 2–8 under Newman. Through 2018, he was one of eight Jewish managers in MLB history. The others were Gabe Kapler, Bob Melvin, Brad Ausmus, Norm Sherry, Harold “Lefty” Phillips, Lou Boudreau, and Lipman Pike. An August 2005 Achilles injury requiring surgery prematurely ended his coaching career in Seattle.