Alan Cockrell

{{Short description|American baseball player and coach (born 1962)}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Alan Cockrell

|image=

|position=Outfielder

|team=

|number=

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1962|12|5}}

|birth_place=Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=September 7

|debutyear=1996

|debutteam=Colorado Rockies

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 29

|finalyear=1996

|finalteam=Colorado Rockies

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.250

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=0

|stat3label=Runs batted in

|stat3value=2

|teams=

As player

Colorado Rockies ({{mlby|1996}})

As coach

Colorado Rockies ({{mlby|2002}}, {{mlby|2007}}–{{mlby|2008}})
Seattle Mariners ({{mlby|2009}}–{{mlby|2010}})
New York Yankees ({{mlby|2015}}–{{mlby|2017}})

}}

Atlee Alan Cockrell (born December 5, 1962) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach.

Football career

Twice named first-team all state, Cockrell led Joplin, Missouri's Parkwood High School Bears football team to a 31–3 record during his three years as starting quarterback. An outstanding athlete, Cockrell could pass (3,499 yards and 44 touchdowns), run (1,541 yards and 36 touchdowns), and even kick (154 extra points and eight field goals).

Cockrell led the Bears' offensive attack to an undefeated season (14–0 – outscoring opponents 653–33) and the Missouri State Class 4A High School Championship in 1980, despite being one of the smallest schools in Class 4A. That team has recently been inducted into the Joplin Area Sports Hall of Fame, alongside the likes of NASCAR's Jamie McMurray.{{Cite web |last=Ostmeyer |first=Andy |date=September 1, 2006 |title=It took a team to build Parkwood's perfect season |url=http://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/it-took-a-team-to-build-parkwood-s-perfect-season/article_2cfcd05c-df6e-5982-a117-2b944aae934f.html |access-date=August 24, 2018 |website=Joplin Globe |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Henry |first=Jim |date=May 13, 2010 |title=Dominant Parkwood team enters hall of fame |url=https://www.joplinglobe.com/sports/dominant-parkwood-team-enters-hall-of-fame/article_96f0f32d-a8d8-5efc-8923-b06bf89b03f6.html |access-date=November 19, 2022 |website=Joplin Globe |language=en}} Heavily recruited by several schools, he chose to attend the University of Tennessee.

Under head coach Johnny Majors, Cockrell became the first true freshman ever to start at quarterback for the Volunteers in 1981.{{Cite web |last=Price |first=Austin |date=November 17, 2016 |title=Memory VolT: Alan Cockrell |url=https://tennessee.rivals.com/news/memory-volt-alan-cockrell |access-date=August 24, 2018 |website=VolQuest}} In the fifth game into the season, he suffered a major knee injury against the Auburn Tigers and his future became uncertain.{{Cite web |last=Holland |first=Steve |date=September 26, 1981 |title=Senior quarterback Steve Alatorre, replacing injured freshman Alan Cockrell,... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/09/26/Senior-quarterback-Steve-Alatorre-replacing-injured-freshman-Alan-Cockrell/7158370324800/ |access-date=August 24, 2018 |website=UPI |language=en}} One of the first football players to come back from such major knee damage, he led the Vols in the 1982 (6–5–1) and 1983 (9–3) seasons, culminating in a 30–23 victory over the Maryland Terrapins (led by future NFL standout Boomer Esiason) in the inaugural Florida Citrus Bowl (now Capital One Bowl).{{Cite web |title=1982 Tennessee Volunteers Schedule and Results |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/tennessee/1982-schedule.html |access-date=August 24, 2018 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=1983 Tennessee Volunteers Schedule and Results |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/tennessee/1983-schedule.html |access-date=August 24, 2018 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Citrus Bowl – Tennessee vs Maryland Box Score, December 17, 1983 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/1983-12-17-maryland.html |access-date=November 19, 2022 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}} The victory was a great ending for Cockrell, as it would be his last game at the University of Tennessee. He was soon to be a first round draft pick by the San Francisco Giants.{{Cite web |title=1st Round of the 1984 MLB June Amateur Draft |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/ |access-date=November 19, 2022 |website=Baseball Reference |language=en}}

=College football statistics=

class="wikitable"

! Year

! School

! Conf

! Cmp

! Att

! Pct

! Yds

! Y/A

! AY/A

! TD

! Int

! Rate

1981

| Tennessee

| SEC

| 15

| 31

| 48.4

| 119

| 3.8

| 1.6

| 1

| 2

| 78.4

1982

| Tennessee

| SEC

| 174

| 294

| 59.2

| 2,021

| 6.9

| 5.4

| 12

| 15

| 120.2

1983

| Tennessee

| SEC

| 128

| 243

| 52.7

| 1,683

| 6.9

| 6.1

| 13

| 10

| 120.3

style="font-weight:bold;" | Career

| style="font-weight:bold;" | Tennessee

| style="font-weight:bold;" |

| style="font-weight:bold;" | 317

| style="font-weight:bold;" | 568

| style="font-weight:bold;" | 55.8

| style="font-weight:bold;" | 3,823

| style="font-weight:bold;" | 6.7

| style="font-weight:bold;" | 5.5

| style="font-weight:bold;" | 26

| style="font-weight:bold;" | 27

| style="font-weight:bold;" | 117.9

Baseball career

Cockrell's first love had always been baseball, and he was an even better outfielder than he was a quarterback. An All-American, he was named to the Tennessee All-Century Baseball Team in 2009.{{Cite web |last=Rudolph |first=Dylan |date=May 30, 2017 |title=Feature: Yankees Coach Alan Cockrell – ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF |url=http://www.wruf.com/headlines/2017/05/30/feature-yankees-coach-alan-cockrell/ |access-date=August 24, 2018 |website=WRUF |language=en-US}} The San Francisco Giants made Cockrell the ninth pick overall in the 1984 MLB draft, and he chose to forgo his senior year in college and play professional baseball.{{Cite web |date=June 5, 1984 |title=Tennessee quarterback Alan Cockrell has signed a baseball contract... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/05/Tennessee-quarterback-Alan-Cockrell-has-signed-a-baseball-contract/2277455256000/ |access-date=August 24, 2018 |website=United Press International |language=en}}

Cockrell played in the minor leagues for thirteen years with five different organizations, including five years with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Andrew |date=March 27, 2012 |title=Best of the Sky Sox: Best Hitter |url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-27665466 |access-date=November 19, 2022 |website=MiLB.com |language=en}} He starred for the Sky Sox and eventually became a member of the Sky Sox Hall of Fame. He was a replacement player in spring training in 1995 during the players' strike.{{Cite news |last=Etkin |first=Jack |date=1995-04-10 |title=What happens when big leaguers, replacements cross paths? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/358651016/?match=1&clipping_id=171955009 |access-date=2025-05-08 |work=Waterloo Courier |pages=B3 |agency=Scripps Howard News Service}} At the end of the 1996 season, at the age of 33, he finally had a cup of coffee in the major leagues. He debuted for the Colorado Rockies on September 7, 1996, with a pinch hit appearance in which he struck out against All-Star closer and future National Baseball Hall of Fame member Billy Wagner.{{Cite web |title=Colorado Rockies at Houston Astros Box Score, September 7, 1996 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU199609070.shtml |access-date=August 24, 2018 |website=Baseball Reference |language=en}} His first major league hit came three days later in the form of a pinch hit double off Tom Glavine against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field. He had nine plate appearances for the Rockies, and retired at the end of the season.{{Cite web |title=Alan Cockrell 1996 Batting Game Logs |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=cockral01&t=b&year=1996 |access-date=August 24, 2018 |website=Baseball Reference |language=en}}

Coaching career

His leadership skills and teaching ability, though, shone through and Cockrell spent the next few years working as a manager and hitting coach in various parts of the Colorado Rockies' development system.{{Cite web |title=Manager and Coaches |url=http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=col&coachorstaffid=329102184121 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018111030/http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=col&coachorstaffid=329102184121 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 18, 2007 |access-date=November 3, 2015 |website=Colorado Rockies}}{{Cite web |title=Manager and Coaches |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=sea&coachorstaffid=112439 |access-date=November 3, 2015 |website=Seattle Mariners}} He returned to the MLB when he was named hitting coach for the Rockies on November 7, 2006 – his second stint, having previously served as hitting instructor the last five months of the 2002 season when Clint Hurdle was promoted to manager. Under Cockrell's guidance in 2007, the Rockies slugged their way to a National League Championship, leading the circuit in batting, on-base percentage, and total hits. Cockrell was one of four coaches let go by the Rockies after a disappointing 2008 season in which the team won only 74 games.{{Cite web |title=2008 Colorado Rockies Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/COL/2008.shtml |access-date=August 24, 2018 |website=Baseball Reference |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Stark |first=Jayson |author-link=Jayson Stark |date=October 15, 2007 |title=Rockies unbelievably reach World Series |url=http://www.espn.com/mlb/playoffs2007/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3065637 |access-date=August 24, 2018 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}

On December 7, 2008, Cockrell was named hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners.{{Cite web |last=Arnold |first=Kirby |date=December 8, 2008 |title=Retooling of M's roster begins |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2008/dec/08/retooling-of-ms-roster-begins/ |access-date=November 19, 2022 |website=The Spokesman-Review}} On May 9, 2010, Cockrell the first of four coaches who were relieved of their duties alongside manager Don Wakamatsu. He was replaced by Alonzo Powell.{{Cite web |date=May 9, 2010 |title=M's fire hitting coach amid offensive struggles |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=5175375 |access-date=November 19, 2022 |website=ESPN.com |language=en |agency=Associated Press}}

On January 11, 2015, the New York Yankees hired Cockrell to be one of the two hitting coaches employed by them in 2015 along with Jeff Pentland.{{Cite web |last=Marchand |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Marchand |date=January 11, 2015 |title=Yankees hire 2 new hitting coaches |url=https://www.espn.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/12151600/new-york-yankees-hire-jeff-pentland-alan-cockrell-hitting-coaches |access-date=January 11, 2015 |website=ESPN.com}} On November 2, 2015, Cockrell was named the hitting coach of the Yankees after the firing of Jeff Pentland. Marcus Thames was hired as assistant hitting coach.{{Cite web |last=King III |first=George A. |date=November 2, 2015 |title=Yankees fill hitting coach jobs with promotion, former player |url=https://nypost.com/2015/11/02/yankees-fill-hitting-coach-jobs-with-promotion-former-player/ |access-date=November 3, 2015 |website=New York Post}} After the 2017 season the Yankees let Joe Girardi's contract expire and hired Aaron Boone to be their next manager. Cockrell's contract was not renewed after the coaching change.{{Cite web |date=February 5, 2018 |title=Marcus Thames promoted to Yankees hitting coach |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2018/02/05/marcus-thames-promoted-to-yankees-hitting-coach/110136116/ |access-date=November 18, 2022 |website=USA Today |agency=Associated Press}}