Preston Gómez

Preston Gómez (born Pedro Gómez Martínez; April 20, 1923 – January 13, 2009) was a Cuban-born infielder, manager, coach and front-office official in Major League Baseball (MLB), best known for managing three major league clubs: the San Diego Padres (1969–72), Houston Astros (1974–75) and Chicago Cubs. Born in Central Preston (now Guatemala), Cuba, he was given his nickname in U.S. professional baseball from his birthplace.

Playing career A right-handed batter and thrower, Gómez was listed as tall and . He played eight major league games as a shortstop and second baseman for the Washington Senators, hitting .286 in seven at bats with two runs batted in.

Minor leagues He spent the next two decades in minor league baseball, as a player between 1944 and 1955, and then as manager of the Diablos Rojos del México, the "Mexico City Reds," in 1957 and 1958. He then managed in the farm systems of the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. His 1959 Havana Sugar Kings were champion of the International League and won the Junior World Series; the following season, his Spokane Indians won 91 games and the 1960 Pacific Coast League championship.

Managerial and coaching career Early career In , Gómez became third-base coach of the Dodgers, serving under Walter Alston through and on two National League pennant-winners and one World Series champion.

San Diego Padres When Dodger executive vice president Buzzie Bavasi became president and part-owner of the expansion Padres, he named Gómez the first skipper in the team's major league history in August 1968. But, like most expansion teams, the Padres struggled, losing 110 games in , 99 in and 100 more in , finishing last in the NL West Division each season. After 11 games and seven more defeats in , Gómez was fired April 26 and replaced by Don Zimmer. With the Padres, he had a record of 180 wins and 316 losses.

Houston Astros

He returned to baseball the following season as a coach under Baseball Hall of Fame skipper Leo Durocher for the Houston Astros. His campaign included interim stints as manager in April and August when the 68-year-old Durocher fell ill; the Astros strongly responded to Gómez, going 16–5 (.762) under him during those temporary assignments. When Durocher retired from baseball at season's end, Gómez succeeded to the manager's post in 1974.

That season, the Astros posted an 81–81 record — Gómez' only .500 or better season as a permanent big league manager. But in 1975, the Astros were staggered by the off-season accidental death of starting pitcher Don Wilson. They began the year by losing 16 of their 24 April games, and were still in last place in the NL West after 127 games (at 47–80) on August 18. On that day, Gómez was released in favor of Bill Virdon. As the Astros' pilot, he finished with a record of 128 wins and 161 losses. and on September 4, 1974, with the Astros' Wilson. Both pitchers were losing their respective games at the time they were pulled. In both cases, the hitting strategy failed, and the games were ultimately lost.

Managerial record

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