Jeff Banister, Former Manager, Texas Rangers

Date of Birth: 1/15/1965
Birthplace: Weatherford, Oklahoma
College: University of Houston

Jeff Banister, former manager of the Texas Rangers, played baseball in the minor leagues from 1986 through 1991. He played just one game in the major leagues in 1991 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished his short playing career with eight games in the minor leagues in 1993.

After ending his career as a player, Banister managed minor league teams for the Pirates from 1994 through 1998. As a manager, he had 367 wins to 400 losses. Following his minor league managerial career, he was the field coordinator for the Pirates from 1999 through 2002. He became the team's minor league field coordinator in 2003 and he held that position through 2010.

In 2011, Banister moved back to the major leagues, this time as the Pirates' bench coach. He stayed in that position through the 2014 season. On October 16, 2014, after the surprise resignation of Ron Washington, Banister became the Rangers' new manager. Although he had no major league managerial experience, the Rangers gave him a three-year contract that includes a fourth year option.

In his first year as a major league manager, Banister won the American League Manager of the Year award for leading the Rangers to the playoffs. The team finished the 2015 season in first place in the AL West division with 88 wins and 74 losses. They went on to lose the AL Division Series to the Toronto Blue Jays three games to two.

Banister led the Rangers to a first place finish in the AL West division again in 2016. They had a 95-67 record. Just as in 2015, they lost the AL Division series to the Blue Jays, this time losing in three straight games.

In 2017, Banister and the Rangers finished third in the AL West division with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses.

Banister was fired on September 21, 2018. At the time of his firing, the Rangers had 64 wins and 88 losses and they were in last place in the AL West division. In four years as manager of the Rangers, he led the team to 325 wins and 313 losses.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Jeff Banister
Baseball Reference - Jeff Banister