Former pitcher, manager and pitching coach Phil Regan died Wednesday, ESPN reported. He was 89.
Regan, a right-hander, spent 13 seasons in the majors with four different teams and managed the Baltimore Orioles to a 71-73 record during the strike-shortened 1995 season. He served as a pitching coach for four organizations and held other assorted baseball jobs.
Regan was an All-Star in 1966 for the Los Angeles Dodgers when he went 14-1 with a 1.62 ERA and a National League-best 21 saves in 65 relief appearances. Legendary pitcher Sandy Koufax nicknamed Regan “The Vulture” due to all the relief wins he was picking up.
Regan began his big league career with the Detroit Tigers in 1960 and won 10 or more games three times in six seasons before being traded to the Dodgers ahead of the 1966 campaign.
Regan was traded to the Chicago Cubs early in the 1968 season and went on to lead the majors with 25 saves. His final major league season, in 1972, was split between the Cubs and Chicago White Sox.
For his career, Regan posted a 96-81 record with a 3.84 ERA and 92 saves in 551 career appearances (105 starts).
Regan’s pitching coach stints were with the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland (twice), the Cubs and the New York Mets. He retired in 2019 after an interim stint with the Mets but sued the organization four years later, citing age discrimination and wrongful termination.
