Grady Little
William Grady Little
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 190 lb.
- High School Garinger High School
- Born March 30, 1950 in Abilene, TX USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Grady Little spent two decades as a coach and minor league manager, but he is best known as the skipper of 2002 and 2003 Boston Red Sox, famous for leaving Pedro Martinez in 1 or 2 innings too long in the 7th game of the 2003 ALCS against the New York Yankees. He was ultimately fired after that season.
Prior to his coaching/managing career, he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves as a catcher and spent several seasons in the minors. He was a player/coach for the West Haven Yankees in 1973, and a coach in 1974. After his playing career ended, he spent five years away from baseball as a cotton farmer in Texas.
He returned to baseball and managed in the Baltimore Orioles (1980-1984), Toronto Blue Jays (1985), and Atlanta Braves (1986-1995) chains. Little was a coach for the San Diego Padres (1996), Boston Red Sox (1997-1999), and Cleveland Indians (2000-2001) before getting his shot with the Red Sox in 2002-2003. He was the minor league catching instructor for the Chicago Cubs in 2004-2005. In December 2005, he was named manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and led his team to the post-season in 2006. He resigned as Dodgers manager on October 30, 2007.
His younger brother, Bryan Little, played and coached for several seasons in the majors.
Little was an adviser to the producers of the baseball movie, "Bull Durham".
Notable Achievements[edit]
- Post-season appearances: 2 (2003 & 2006 Wild Card)
| Preceded by Joe Kerrigan |
Boston Red Sox Manager 2002-2003 |
Succeeded by Terry Francona |
| Preceded by Jim Tracy |
Los Angeles Dodgers Manager 2006-2007 |
Succeeded by Joe Torre |
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