James Edward Dwyer is a former outfielder who enjoyed an eighteen-year major league career for seven different teams between and. Listed at 5' 10", 185 lb., he batted and threw left-handed.
MLB career
A graduate of St. Laurence High School in Burbank, Illinois, just outside Chicago, Dwyer was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the draft out of Southern Illinois University, and he wasted little time in the minor leagues, debuting in the majors in 1973 with the Cardinals. He became known as a fastball hitter who was used mostly against right-handed pitching and played all three outfield positions well. Midway through the season, he was traded to the Montreal Expos. The following season, another midseason trade landed him with the New York Mets. He rejoined the Cardinals for the season and part of, and later played with the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox. Finally, he found a home with the Baltimore Orioles in. With Baltimore, Dwyer became a role player as a designated hitter and pinch-hitter. He enjoyed a good season in, hitting.304 in 71 games, but his most productive year came in, when he appeared in 100 games while hitting.286 with eight home runs and 38 runs batted in, helping his team to reach the World Series, won by Baltimore in five games. In Game One of the Series, Dwyer got the Orioles only run with a solo home run off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher John Denny. During the season he hit a career-high 15 home runs in 241 at-bats. From 1988-90 Dwyer was technically on five teams, playing with Baltimore and Montreal, but he did have three separate stints with Minnesota. For his career, Dwyer was a.260 hitter with 77 home runs and 349 RBI in 1328 games, including 409 runs, 115 doubles, 17 triples, 26 stolen bases, and a.353 on-base percentage. In four postseason games he hit.333, including one home run, two doubles, four runs, and one RBI. He also collected a career 103 pinch-hits. He also played from to 1980 with the Mayagüez Indians of the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, and following his majors career, Dwyer played for the 1990 Sun City Rays of the Senior Professional Baseball Association.
Highlight
Dwyer, who was one of the most extreme platoon players of the 1980s, started just 11 games in July 1983, playing a complete game just four times that month. Even without playing regularly, he hit.452 in 48 at-bats that month, ranking fifth for the Best Month BA in the all-time list behind Larry Walker, Jim Rice and Sean Berry. In the heat of the Orioles' 1982 pennant race, Jim reached base 13 consecutive times over 4 games against Detroit and Milwaukee.
Coaching career
Following his playing career, Jim coached and managed the triple APortland Beavers. In, he became hitting coach of the Minnesota Twins' Double-A affiliate, the New Britain Rock Cats, and has remained within the Twins' organization in one capacity or another ever since. He remained with the Rock Cats through before becoming Twins' minor league roving hitting coordinator. In 2006, Jim became the hitting coach of Minnesota's advanced A affiliate, the Fort Myers Miracle. He retired in 2016 after 11 years as coach with the Miracle.
