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Dascenzo Brings Experience to Young Wizards Team
By Chad Gramling | April 5, 2008
George Von Benko’s “Memory Lane” columns appear in today’s Herald-Standard has a great article about current Fort Wayne Wizards Manager, Doug Dascenzo. Von Benko recalls the young infielder’s Cleveland, Ohio upbringing, his rise through college and an unexpected selection in the draft by the Chicago Cubs.
Dascenzo was raised in Brownsville. He graduated from Brownsville in 1982 and continued baseball at Florida College.
“It was a little Christian two-year school. I spent one year there and then ended up going to Oklahoma State my sophomore and junior years.”
As part of the Oklahoma State baseball team Dascenzo played on College World Series in 1984 and 1985.
“We could start naming all the players that came out of Oklahoma State, but you might run out of tape,” Dascenzo joked. “Guys like Pete Incaviglia, John Farrell and Mike Henneman the list goes on and on. It was a great program and still is a pretty good program. “
He was drafted in the round 12 of the 1985 draft by the Chicago Cubs. He hadn’t expected it. At the time, he had planned to marry and return to college in the fall. Instead, he entered the world of Minor League Baseball.
Dascenzo rose through the Cubs’ minor league system and made his Major League debut on Sept. 2, 1988, against the Cincinnati Reds. In that game, he went 3-for-5. He stayed with the club through 1992 and played in a then-National League record 241 consecutive errorless games.
Dascenzo played parts of seven Major League seasons with Chicago (1988-1992), the Texas Rangers (1993) and the San Diego Padres (1996). He has a career .234 average with 42 doubles, 10 triples, five dingers, 90 runs batted in, 156 runs scored and 49 stolen bases.
In 1998, Dascenzo became a hitting coach in the Padres organization. 2008 begins his second campaign as manager of the Fort Wayne Wizards.
April 6th, 2008 at 2:05 am
[…] More coverage at OurSportsCentral. There’s also a nice article on Wizards manager (and ex-Padre) Doug Dascenzo at the Uniontown (Pa.) Herald-Standard (h/t Baseball in Fort Wayne). […]
April 6th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Chad,
Great piece of Dascenzo. It’s always amazing how many of those who struggled in the majors are so good at coaching. Maybe it’s the struggles that make them better in that role.
Behind the Dugout
April 6th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
[…] took the time to profile former Chicago Cub and Texas Ranger (and one of my personal favorites) Doug Dascenzo. For those out of the minor league loop Dascenzo is serving his second season as the manager of the […]