Steve Buechele

Steven Bernard Buechele (born September 26, 1961) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman, coach, and current front office executive for the Texas Rangers. Buechele played from to for the Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Cubs. He joined the Rangers in after he was named the Tom Grieve Minor League Player of the Year. He was traded from the Rangers to the Pirates in following the emergence of Dean Palmer. He returned to the Rangers for an eighth season in .

Playing career

Buechele was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1979 but did not sign. He was drafted again in 1982 by the Texas Rangers and spent several years in the minor leagues before breaking into the majors in 1985 with the Rangers. He had a career year in when he had a batting average of .267 along with 18 home runs and 66 RBI while only committing three errors for an MLB-record .991 fielding percentage at third base.

Buechele ranks 12th in Rangers' club history for total games with 889 games played and 16th for at-bats (2723). Additionally, the 25 times he was hit by a pitch is the 13th highest in Rangers' franchise history and his 73 grounded into double plays is the 14th highest. In Rangers' fielding stats, he is 21st (2476) in total chances, 7th (1675) in assists, 15th (66) in errors, and 33rd (165) in double plays. He was a candidate for the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 and 2006.

Post-playing career Buechele continues to be a part of the professional baseball world, including serving as one of the hosts and coaches for the Texas Rangers 2006 Media Spring Training. In August 2008, Buechele began to serve as a studio commentator for the Ranger's pre and post-game shows on Fox Sports Southwest. He was the first base coach for the Texas Rangers from 2015 to 2018.

On November 14, 2018, it was announced that Buechele would be moving from his role as the first base coach, to be a special assistant in the baseball operations department of the Texas Rangers front office.

Personal life Steve graduated from Servite High School (Anaheim, CA) in 1979. Steve and his wife Nancy currently reside in Arlington, Texas. They have five children. His eldest son Garrett played baseball for the University of Oklahoma and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants 14th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, and his middle son Tanner played baseball for Fullerton College. Steve has two daughters, Jordan and Amber, both of whom attend the University of Oklahoma. His youngest son, Shane, attended Texas and SMU where he played quarterback for the Mustangs. In 2021 he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Kansas City Chiefs.

At Stanford University, his roommate was Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway. He is a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity.