Franklin Stubbs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Franklin Stubbs |
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| First baseman / Outfielder | ||||||||||||||
| Born: October 21, 1960 Laurinburg, North Carolina, U.S. |
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| debut | ||||||||||||||
| April 28, 1984, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | ||||||||||||||
| September 28, 1995, for the Detroit Tigers | ||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | ||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .232 | |||||||||||||
| Home runs | 104 | |||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 348 | |||||||||||||
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Franklin Lee Stubbs, born on October 21, 1960, is a former professional baseball player from the United States. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for many years, from 1984 to 1995. During his career, Stubbs played for four different MLB teams. His most successful season was in 1990 when he played for the Houston Astros. After he stopped playing, Stubbs became a baseball coach.
College Baseball Days
Franklin Stubbs played college baseball at Virginia Tech until 1982. In 1981, he was named an All-American. This means he was one of the best college players in the country. That year, he hit 29 home runs. Because of his great achievements, he was later added to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Playing Professional Baseball
Time with the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers chose Franklin Stubbs in the first round of the 1982 MLB Draft. This happened after he finished his college career at Virginia Tech. Before playing in the Major Leagues, he played for the Albuquerque Dukes. This team was part of the Pacific Coast League from 1983 to 1985.
Stubbs made his first appearance in Major League Baseball on April 28, 1984. He started as the first baseman for the Dodgers against the San Diego Padres. In his first game, he did not get any hits. His first hit was a triple on May 5 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. A few days later, on May 14, he hit his first home run against the Philadelphia Phillies.
In 1987, while playing for the Dodgers, Stubbs was excellent at fielding. He had 885 chances to make a play and only made 5 errors. This gave him a .994 fielding percentage, which was the best in the National League that year. Stubbs was also a key player on the Dodgers team that won the 1988 World Series. He batted .294 in the World Series, helping his team win the championship. He played with the Dodgers until 1989. During his time there, he hit .227 with 59 home runs and 178 runs batted in over 542 games.
Playing for the Houston Astros
On April 1, 1990, Stubbs was traded to the Houston Astros. He was traded for a rookie player named Terry Wells. This trade happened because Stubbs had become a backup player for the Dodgers. He had lost his starting position to Eddie Murray. With the Astros in 1990, Stubbs had his best year ever. He hit 23 home runs and had 71 runs batted in as the team's first baseman.
Time with the Milwaukee Brewers
Before the 1991 season, Stubbs signed a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. He played for them for two seasons. During his time in Milwaukee, he played in 195 games. His batting average was .220.
Short Stays with Other Teams
Stubbs signed with the Montreal Expos in February 1993. However, he was released before the season started in March. He then signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox in May. He spent the 1993 season playing in AAA for the Pawtucket Red Sox. He played 94 games and had a batting average of .237.
In 1994, Stubbs played baseball in the Mexican League. He played for two teams there: the Leones de Yucatán and the Charros de Jalisco.
Final Season with the Detroit Tigers
On December 20, 1994, Stubbs signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers. He made it onto the Major League team as a reserve outfielder and pinch hitter. He played in 62 games for the Tigers and had a batting average of .250. After this season, he decided to retire from playing professional baseball.
Coaching Career
After retiring as a player, Franklin Stubbs began a career in coaching.
Coaching for the Atlanta Braves
Stubbs joined the Atlanta Braves organization in 1997. He started as a hitting coach for the Danville Braves in 1997 and the Danville 97s in 1998. From 1999 to 2002, he worked as the Braves' minor league hitting coordinator. This meant he helped oversee hitting instruction for all their minor league teams. After two more years as a traveling hitting instructor for the Braves, he returned to coaching teams directly. He coached for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans from 2005 to 2006. Then he coached for the Mississippi Braves from 2007 to 2008.
Coaching for the Los Angeles Dodgers
In 2009, Stubbs left the Braves organization. He became the hitting coach for the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino. This team was part of the Dodgers organization. He coached there in 2009 and 2010. He was then promoted to the AA Chattanooga Lookouts for the 2011-2012 seasons. In 2013, he became the hitting coach for the Albuquerque Isotopes. This was the Triple-A team for the Dodgers. When the Dodgers moved their Triple-A team to the Oklahoma City Dodgers in 2015, Stubbs stayed with the organization as their hitting coach. He left the Dodgers organization after the 2015 season.
Coaching for the Arizona Diamondbacks
In 2016, Stubbs became the hitting coach for the Missoula Osprey. This team was the Rookie League affiliate for the Arizona Diamondbacks. A year later, he was promoted again. He became the hitting coach for the Hillsboro Hops. This team was the Arizona Diamondbacks' Class A Advanced affiliate.
