Phil Regan’s name didn’t appear in many headlines during the 2015 postseason, but there’s no doubt how much the longtime coach meant to the New York Mets’ World Series run.
Regan, a former Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher and longtime St. Lucie Mets pitching coach, died on July 8 in Port St. Lucie. He was 89 years old.
“He was a man’s man,” said former New York Mets manager Terry Collins. “He was always there, very smart, very educated and he cared so much about the game and they players. You don’t spend 27 years in Latin American in the winer if you don’t care about the game.”
Regan pitched 13 seasons in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. He was nicknamed “the Vulture” by former Dodgers teammate Sandy Koufax for his ability to pick up wins in relief appearances.
Regan compiled a 96-81 record with 92 saves and a 3.84 record in 551 appearances. He was an all-star in 1966 when he went 14-1 with a 1.62 ERA in 65 games. He led the league in saves (21) and games finished (48).
Regan had a lengthy managing and coaching career spanning four decades. He managed the Baltimore Orioles in 1995 and had coaching stints with the Seattle Mariners, Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Cubs and Mets organizations. He also managed teams in the Dominican Professional Baseball League and Venezuela Winter League, and was the Team USA pitching coach at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
But perhaps Regan’s biggest impact as a coach came as the St. Lucie Mets pitching coach from 2009-15, and then the Mets minor league assistant pitching coordinator from 2016-19.
He worked with several notable Mets pitchers, including Jacob deGrom, Zach Wheeler, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Seth Lugo and Jeurys Familia.
“I have no doubt that within the last six months, those guys reached out to him, sent him a text or something. ‘Are you seeing anything here?’ They’d sent him a video. They did it for years. Those guys would all call him. He just loved being around the game. He was still throwing BP (batting practice) at 82.
“Years and years ago, they didn’t have all the video you have today where you’re looking at spin rates and all those things. You had to have strong pitching coaches. He had that coming up. He knew how to pitch guys, how to command the fastball. For years, that’s all the Dodger pitchers talked about was controlling the fastball.”
When the Mets reached the World Series in 2015, every single postseason game was started by a pitcher – Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard and Matz – who came up in the organization under Regan’s tutelage. Familia led all Mets pitchers that postseason with 12 appearances and five saves.
“His fingerprints were all over that team,” Collins said of Regan. “From the bullpen with guys like Familia and (Hansel) Robles to what he did for all those young pitchers. When they came up, they were ready. What Matt Harvey came up, he was ready. Phil had his fingerprints all over that team.”
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Phil Regan, former MLB All-Star and St. Lucie Mets coach, dies at 89
Reporting by Jon Santucci, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jon Santucci, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
