1977 Topps Baseball #204 - Jeff Newman

• Jeff Newman was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1970. He played in the minors from 1970-1974 in the Cleveland organization. Jeff then played in the California Angels organization in 1974 and 1975. Newman also spent some time in the Phillies organization in 1975.
• Jeff was playing for the AAA Tucson Toros in 1976 when his contract was purchased by the Oakland A's in late June.
• Newman played sparingly in 1976 and batted .195 in 43 games.
• In 1977 Jeff backed up Manny Sanguillen behind the plate. He batted .222 in 94 games.
• For most of the 1978 season Newman and Jim Essian split time at catcher. Jeff batted .239 with 9 HR and 34 RBI in 105 games.
• Newman was the starting catcher for the A's in 1979. He made the AL All Star team, but didn't play. Newman led the A's in home runs in 1979. Jeff batted .231 with 22 HR and 71 RBI in 143 games.
• In 1980 Essian regained his starting catching job. Newman was used in several positions during the season. Jeff batted .233 with 15 HR and 56 RBI in 127 games.
• For the next two seasons Newman was a backup catcher. In 1981 Jeff batted .231 in 68 games and in 1982 he batted .199 in 72 games. After the 1982 season Newman was traded (with Tony Armas) to the Boston Red Sox for Carney Lansford, Garry Hancock, and a minor leaguer.
• Jeff spent two seasons as the backup catcher for the Red Sox. In 1983 Newman batted .189 in 59 games and in 1984 he batted .222 in 24 games.
• The Red Sox released Newman during spring training in 1985.
• Newman was the interim manager for the A's in 1986 after Jackie Moore was fired. Newman had been the bullpen coach. The A's had a record of 2-8 under Newman's tenure. Tony LaRussa, who had recently been fired by the Chicago White Sox, took over as Oakland manager on July 2.
• Jeff managed in the A's system from 1989-1991.
• Newman was the third base coach for the Cleveland Indians from 1992-1999. He then was the bench coach of the Baltimore Orioles in 2000. 
• Jeff was a field assistant for the Office of the Commissioner from 2002-2004 and then was the third base coach for the Seattle Mariners in 2005 and 2006. Newman's 2006 season ended prematurely when he injured his Achilles' tendon in August.
• 1977 stats:
• Batting: .222, 4 HR, 15 HR in 94 games
• Pitching: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 IP
• 1977 highlights:
• June 26 - Went 4 for 4 in Oakland's 7-3 win over the Kansas City Royals.
• Sept 14 - Pitched one inning in the second game of a doubleheader. Jeff hit a batter, but didn't allow any runs. The A's lost the game 6-0 to the Royals.
• Other card blogs: 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985