Tim Blackwell

Timothy P. Blackwell (born August 19, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and minor league manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Montreal Expos.

Early years Blackwell graduated from Will C. Crawford High School in San Diego, California in 1970. He briefly attended Grossmont Community College but signed with the Boston Red Sox when he was drafted by them.

Minor league baseball career Blackwell was drafted at the age of 17 by the Boston Red Sox in the 13th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft. He began his professional baseball career that same year with the Jamestown Falcons of the New York–Pennsylvania League. After three years at the Single A level, he was moved up to the Double A level with the Bristol Red Sox of the Eastern League. Unfortunately, the Red Sox faltered at the end of the season, falling to third place in the final standings. Blackwell was a reserve catcher behind Fisk and Bob Montgomery in 1975 as the Red Sox won the American League Eastern Division title. Although he provided good defensive abilities, he only had a .197 batting average and, the Red Sox elected to use Montgomery as reserve catcher in the post-season as, they defeated the Oakland Athletics in the 1975 American League Championship Series, before losing to the Cincinnati Reds in the 1975 World Series.

In April 1976, Blackwell's contract was purchased from the Red Sox by the Philadelphia Phillies. He served as a reserve catcher behind Bob Boone before being traded to the Montreal Expos in 1977 for Barry Foote. In 1981, Jody Davis took over as the Cubs main catcher, although Blackwell still managed to finish second among the league's catchers with a .993 fielding percentage in 56 games. Blackwell was granted free agency at the end of the season and, he signed with the Montreal Expos where he served as a reserve catcher behind Gary Carter for one season before retiring as a player in May 1983 at the age of 30.

Managing career Following his playing career, Blackwell became a catching instructor and coach with the Toronto Blue Jays organization then became a minor league manager for the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets organizations. He managed the Pittsfield Mets of the New York–Penn League to the playoffs and garnered Manager of the Year honors, and then led the Columbia Mets to the South Atlantic League championship in . In 1993 and 1994, Blackwell managed the new St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League. The team won the league's first championship in 1993. He last managed the Winston-Salem Warthogs of the Class A Carolina League in .