Former Pittsburgh Pirates player and coach Bob Skinner, who also had managerial stints with the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres, has died. He was 94.
Known by the nickname “Sleepy” during his time with the Pirates, the San Diego-area native played nearly nine of his 12 major league seasons in Pittsburgh, earning three All-Star Game nods and winning a World Series with the club in 1960.
“We are saddened to relay the news of the passing of former Pirates outfielder and coach Bob Skinner,” the Pirates said in a statement. “Skinner was a member of the 1960 World Series Championship Pirates and a coach on the 1979 World Series Championship team. He made his Major League debut with the Bucs in 1954 and played nine of his 12 seasons in Pittsburgh.”
Skinner served as a Pittsburgh coach for 10 seasons over two stints (1974-76, 1979-85).
Skinner also won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964 after a midseason trade from the Cincinnati Reds.
After he retired as a player following the 1966 season, Skinner became manager of the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate in San Diego in 1967 then took over as manager in Philadelphia when Gene Mauch was fired 54 games into the 1968 season.
Skinner resigned as Phillies manager in 1969 with the team off to a 44-64 start as he was going through a reported feud with star player Dick Allen.
Skinner returned for a second stint as Pirates batting coach in 1979 as the team won the World Series. He also had coaching stints with the Padres (1970-73, 1977), California Angels (1978) and Atlanta Braves (1986-88).
Skinner also had a one-game stint as an interim manager of the Padres in 1977, and finished 93-123 as a major league skipper.
In 1,381 career games as a player, Skinner batted .277 with 103 home runs and 531 RBIs for the Pirates (1954, 1956-63), Reds (1963-64) and Cardinals (1964-66).
Skinner is the father of former major league catcher Joel Skinner, who played nine seasons with the Chicago White Sox, the then-Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees. Joel Skinner was a longtime minor league manager who also was interim manager of Cleveland for 76 games in the 2002 season.
