Len Okrie

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name = Len Okrie

| image = Len Okrie.jpeg

| width =

| caption =

| position = Catcher

| bats = Right

| throws = Right

| birth_date = {{birth date|1923|7|16}}

| birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|4|12|1923|7|16}}

| death_place = Hope Mills, North Carolina, U.S.

| debutleague = MLB

| debutdate = June 16

| debutyear = 1948

| debutteam = Washington Senators

| finalleague = MLB

| finaldate = April 16

|finalyear=1952

|finalteam=Boston Red Sox

| statleague = MLB

| stat1label = Batting average

|stat1value=.218

|stat2label=Hits

|stat2value=17

|stat3label=Runs batted in

|stat3value=3

| teams =

Washington Senators ({{baseball year|1948}}, {{baseball year|1950}}–{{baseball year|1951}})
Boston Red Sox ({{baseball year|1952}})

}}

Leonard Joseph Okrie (July 16, 1923 – April 12, 2018) was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball. Born in Detroit, Okrie stood {{convert|6|ft|2|in|cm|abbr=on}} tall, weighed {{convert|185|lb|kg}}, and batted and threw right-handed.

Career as player and MLB coach

Okrie's playing career stretched from 1942 through 1957, with three seasons (1943–45) missed due to World War II service in the United States Navy.[http://baseballinwartime.com/those_who_served/those_who_served_atoz.htm BaseballinWartime.com] Drafted by the Washington Senators out of the Chicago Cubs farm system in November 1947, Okrie would spend only one full season (1950) in the Major Leagues as Washington's third-string catcher (behind Al Evans and Mickey Grasso). He spent parts of the 1948 and 1951 campaigns with Washington, and appeared in one game for the 1952 Boston Red Sox. Overall, Okrie appeared in 42 games, with 78 at bats, 17 hits, no home runs, three runs batted in, and a .218 batting average.

He managed in the Boston farm system from 1954 to 1960 and in 1963, and was the Red Sox' Major League bullpen coach in 1961–62 and 1965–66. He then joined his hometown Detroit Tigers as a minor league manager (1967–69, 1971–74) and MLB bullpen coach (1970). His career record as a minor league manager was 912 wins, and 1,013 defeats (.474). Okrie won one league pennant, in the Appalachian League during his maiden season as a skipper.

His father, Frank, a left-handed pitcher, appeared in 21 games for the 1920 Tigers and two brothers played minor league baseball.{{cite web |first=Bill |last=Nowlin |title=Len Okrie |url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/33837236 |website=SABR |date=November 23, 2015 |accessdate=December 25, 2016}}{{cite web |title=Bob Okrie Minor League Statistics & History |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=okrie-001rob |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}{{cite web |title=Frank Okrie Minor League Statistics & History |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=okrie-002fra |website=Baseball-Reference.com}} Okrie died in April 2018 at the age of 94.[https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/hope-mills-nc/leonard-okrie-7819748 Joseph Okrie Obituary]

References

Johnson, Lloyd and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007.
Spink, C.C. Johnson, ed., The 1965 Baseball Register, The 1966 Baseball Register, The 1970 Baseball Register. St. Louis: The Sporting News.