Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Marty DeMerritt, a longtime minor league pitching coach who briefly worked as a bounty hunter after his playing career ended has died. He was 71.Marcos Grunfeld of El Emergente was first to report the news Saturday. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, citing an announcement by the Tampa Bay Rays, confirmed the news Sunday via Twitter/X.Longtime pitching coach Marty DeMerritt, who had brief big-league stints with #Giants and #Cubs and spent 23 years working with #Rays minor leaguers before retiring after ‘23 season, has died at age 71. Had been dealing with a series of health challenges, per team.— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) January 12, 2025
DeMerritt had held various coaching roles in the Rays’ player development department since 2001, a tenure rare for its longevity. A native of San Francisco, DeMerritt said in a 2007 interview that he spent one month out of the year in his Northern California home, and the other 11 on assignment working with minor league pitchers.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – JULY 31: Detailed view of a baseball hat and glove during the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Tropicana Field on July 31, 2024 in St Petersburg, Florida. A longtime…
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – JULY 31: Detailed view of a baseball hat and glove during the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Tropicana Field on July 31, 2024 in St Petersburg, Florida. A longtime Rays minor league coach passed away.
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“The only bad thing about it is you’ve got to be away from your family. If you’re single, my God, it’s a tremendous life,” DeMerritt told Gold Country Media. “But I’m not one to sit here and watch TV, I’m not one to go out and play golf. And I’m a very private person. I’m not one to BS and mingle with the people down at the corner. So I choose to make baseball my living for 11 months out of the year.”DeMerritt pitched parts of six seasons in the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros organizations, reaching Double-A before retiring following the 1977 season. Among the jobs he briefly held in the ensuing years: bounty hunter.More news: Former Mets, Dodgers Outfielder Passes AwayIn a 1992 interview with the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, DeMerritt said his usual job involved repossessing televisions, cars, and other stolen goods.”One night my buddy and I went into an undesirable neighborhood to take back a van,” DeMerritt told Gordon Edes. “We got into the van OK, but inside there was a big dog, and he barked so much he woke up the people inside the house. A few big boys came out of there, so we did the only thing we could — we ran.”More news: Two-Time All-Star, World Series Champion for Pirates, Red Sox Passes AwayNicknamed “Mad Dog,” DeMerritt’s baseball coaching career began in 1982 at San Francisco’s Lowell High School. The following year, he was hired by the Giants to be the pitching coach at their Low-A affiliate in Clinton, Oregon.DeMerritt worked his way up the minor-league ladder and joined the Giants’ major league staff as an interim bullpen coach in 1989, when the team reached the World Series.More news: First-Round Draft Pick Who Pitched For Orioles, Cubs Dies at 37The following year, DeMerritt became the first American to serve as a pitching coach for a Korean team when he joined the staff of the Samsung Lions. That lasted only one season.In a 1992 interview with the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, DeMerritt revealed he was suspended for a month by the team for an unusual reason: their manager punished a pitcher by trying to hit him with a baseball bat, and DeMerritt tried to intervene.More news: Red Sox All-Star, World Series Winner Who Played for Expansion Mets Dies”They considered that mutiny,” he said.From 1991-2000, DeMerritt held various coaching roles with the Giants, Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates — including one season (1999) as the Cubs’ major league pitching coach.For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.
