Joe Coleman

Joseph Howard Coleman (February 3, 1947 – July 9, 2025) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher from 1965 to 1982, including 15 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Washington Senators (1965–70), Detroit Tigers (1971–76), Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics (1977–78), Toronto Blue Jays (1978), San Francisco Giants (1979), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1979). He compiled a 142–135 win–loss record and 3.70 earned run average (ERA) in 484 major league games.

Coleman averaged more than 20 wins per season from 1971 to 1973. He recorded 236 strikeouts in 1971, third best in the American League, was selected to the American League All-Star team in 1972, and recorded 23 wins in 1973, second highest in the American League.

Coleman was the son of former major league pitcher Joe Coleman and the father of former major league pitcher Casey Coleman. The trio are the first three-generation pitchers in MLB history.

Early years Coleman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 3, 1947. His father, Joe Coleman (Joseph Patrick Coleman), was a pitcher in Major League Baseball between 1942 and 1955.

Playing career Washington Senators In June 1965, Coleman was drafted out of high school by the Washington Senators in the first round (third overall pick) of the 1965 Major League Baseball draft, baseball's first amateur draft. Coleman was represented in contract negotiations by his father, who reportedly secured a club record signing bonus of $75,000 for Coleman.

After a 12-game stint with the Burlington Senators in the Carolina League, Coleman made his Major League Baseball debut at age 18, less than four months after graduating from high school, on September 28, 1965, throwing a four-hitter against the Kansas City Athletics and pitched two complete game victories in the final week of the 1965 season. Coleman was thus the first-ever draft pick to play in the majors. After the 1965 season concluded, Coleman and his father opened a store in Natick, Massachusetts known as Joe Coleman & Son Sporting Goods.

Coleman spent most of the 1966 season with the York White Roses in the Eastern League, compiling a 7–19 record in 32 games. In 1967, Coleman won a spot in the Senators' starting rotation, appeared in 28 games, and compiled an 8–9 record with a 4.63 ERA. Coleman sustained a linear skull fracture, was hospitalized for two weeks, and remained on the disabled list for 21 days before joining the Tigers in May 1971. Coleman had a 7–6 record on July 4, 1971, but he finished the season with a 13–3 record from that point forward. During the 1971 season, Coleman compiled a 20–9 record and a 3.15 ERA while recording 16 complete games. His 236 strikeouts in 1971 was a career high and ranked third in the American League behind Mickey Lolich and Vida Blue.

Coleman had another strong season in 1972, compiling a 19–14 record with a 2.80 ERA and 222 strikeouts in 280 innings pitched. Coleman also helped the Tigers win the American League Eastern Division. In Game 3 of the 1972 American League Championship Series, with the Tigers facing elimination after losing Games 1 and 2, Coleman threw a complete-game shutout against the Oakland Athletics and set an ALCS record with 14 strikeouts in a single game.

Prior to the start of the 1973 season, Coleman went on a diet and lost 25 pounds, dropping from 226 to 201 pounds. The trimmer Coleman won the first four starts of the 1973 season. Despite a down season for the Tigers team, Coleman posted a career-high 23 wins, second in the American League behind Wilbur Wood's 24 wins.

In his first three seasons with the Tigers, Coleman compiled a win–loss record of 62–38 and pitched 38 complete games with a 3.16 ERA and 660 strikeouts. Coleman credited much of his success from 1971 to 1973 to the confidence instilled in him by Detroit manager Billy Martin.

On April 11, 1974, Coleman lost a bid for a no-hitter in the eighth inning when Gene Michael of the New York Yankees hit a one-out single. By May 15, 1974, Coleman had a 6–1 record and appeared to be on track for the best season of his career. However, he did not win another game for two months, and his performance dropped off markedly. He finished the 1974 season with a 14–12 record and a 4.32 ERA in 41 starts. He walked an astounding 158 batters in 1974 (a Tigers single-season record) for a career high rate of 5.0/9 IP.

In 1975, Coleman's performance declined further, as he compiled a 10–18 record with a 5.55 ERA. In 1976, Coleman started 12 games for Detroit in the first two months of the season, posting a 2–5 record with a 4.86 ERA. The Cubs used Coleman principally as a relief pitcher. He appeared in 39 games for the Cubs, all but four in relief, and compiled a 2–8 record with a 4.10 ERA.

Coleman appeared in 43 games for the Athletics in 1977, including 12 games as a starting pitcher. He compiled a 4–4 record with a much-improved 2.96 ERA.

Prior to the 1978 season, Oakland owner Finley again sought to discard Coleman, asking him to report to the Athletics' minor league club in Vancouver. Coleman refused and compiled a 3–0 record and a 0.00 ERA in his first eight appearances of the 1978 season. Days later, Finley offered to buy Coleman back from Toronto for double the price Toronto had paid. Blue Jays' president, Peter Bavasi, declined Finley's proposal, suspecting that Finley had found another team prepared to pay more for Coleman. Coleman noted at the time that he was happy to escape Finley. After his bid to reacquire Coleman was rejected, Finley claimed he had only wanted to reacquire Coleman to trade him to Pittsburgh and lashed out at Coleman: "He's a very fine old man, but all he does is throw that slop up there. Maybe he can do all right. He doesn't throw hard enough now to break a pane of glass. He was spending his spare time trying to teach our young guys to pitch. How can he do that when he can't pitch himself?"

Toronto Blue Jays Shortly after arriving in Toronto, Coleman met with club president, Peter Bavasi. Despite having rejected Finley's bid to reacquire Coleman, Bavasi informed Coleman that he did not fit into the Blue Jays' plans. Coleman recalled, "It was a shock to me. I didn't know why I was here. He didn't want to get into a contract situation with me that would take up a spot of one of the younger kids." Coleman signed with the San Francisco Giants on April 1, 1979. After five relief appearances with the Giants, and despite not allowing an earned run, Coleman was released on April 21, 1979. Coleman compiled a 5–1 record and a 2.78 ERA in 31 games for Portland from May to July 1979. In mid-July 1979, the Pirates purchased Coleman from the Beavers. Pitching principally in relief, Coleman compiled a 4–2 record in 40 games for Spokane. During his time with Spokane, Coleman also served as the club's pitching coach and helped coach the University of Washington baseball team.

Career totals In 15 major league seasons, Coleman appeared in 484 games (340 as a starter), pitched innings and compiled a 142–135 win–loss record with 234 home runs and 1,003 walks allowed, 1,728 strikeouts, 90 hit batsmen, 118 wild pitches and a 3.70 career ERA.

Coleman continued to serve in the Angels' organization for several years after his stint in Peoria. In 1987, he was the organization's roving minor-league pitching instructor, and in 1988 he joined the Angels' major league staff as bullpen coach.

In 1991, Coleman left the Angels to become the pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals under manager Joe Torre. He served in that position through the 1994 season. In October 1994, the Cardinals opted not to renew Coleman's contract in a front office shakeup that also saw the arrival of a new general manager and the departure of Bucky Dent as the club's third-base coach.

In 1996, Coleman returned to the Angels' organization. He served initially as a scout and then took over as the club's pitching coach for the last two months of the 1996 season. He was named bullpen coach for the 1997 season. He continued to serve as the Angels' bullpen coach through the 2000 season. In 2001, Coleman was hired as the pitching coach for the Durham Bulls, the Triple A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2007, Coleman left Durham and became the pitching coach of the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Class A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. He remained in that position until September 2011. Starting in 2014, Coleman was the pitching coach for the Jupiter Hammerheads, the Class A affiliate of the Florida Marlins.

Personal life and death In 1982, Coleman met his future wife, Donna, after moving to Fort Myers, Florida. Their son, Casey Coleman, was born in Fort Myers in 1987 and pitched in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs from 2010 to 2012 and for the Kansas City Royals in 2014.

Coleman died at his home in Jamestown, Tennessee on July 9, 2025, at the age of 78.