Darren Fenster

Darren Fenster
Fenster with the United States national baseball team in 2021
Boston Red Sox
Infielder / Manager
Born: (1978-09-11) September 11, 1978 (age 46)
Edison, New Jersey, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Darren Fenster (born September 11, 1978) is an American former professional baseball player and manager who works in the Minor League Baseball system of the Boston Red Sox. As a player, he was listed at 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) and 175 pounds (79 kg) while batting and throwing right-handed.

Playing career

Fenster grew up in Middletown Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Middletown High School South in 1996; he went on to play collegiate baseball with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights baseball team.[1] In 1998, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL).[2]

Selected in the 12th round by the Kansas City Royals in the 2000 Major League Baseball draft, Fenster played in Minor League Baseball for the Spokane Indians (Class A Short Season), Burlington Bees (Class A), Wilmington Blue Rocks (Class A-Advanced) and the Wichita Wranglers (Double-A).[3] After five seasons in the Royals' farm system, a knee injury led to the end of his playing career. In 438 minor-league games, he compiled a .267 batting average with five home runs and 179 runs batted in. Defensively, he appeared primarily as a second baseman and third baseman, while also playing some games as a shortstop and outfielder.[3]

Coaching career

In 2006, Rutgers manager Fred Hill asked Fenster to serve as a coach for the Scarlet Knights. In 2008, Fenster returned to the CCBL an assistant coach for the Orleans Cardinals.[4]

Fenster was a manager in the Boston Red Sox organization for six seasons. His first minor league managing post was in 2013 with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox.[3] He then spent the next four seasons managing the Greenville Drive of the Class A South Atlantic League, winning the team's first league championship in 2017.[5] In 2018, he managed the Portland Sea Dogs of the Double-A Eastern League.[6] Fenster became the Red Sox' minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator before the 2019 season.[7] In February 2022, Fenster was named minor league infield coordinator for the Red Sox.[8]

Managerial record

Year Team (Class) W L Pct. Notes
2013 GCL Red Sox (Rk) 35 25 .583 lost in league finals
2014 Greenville Drive (A) 60 79 .432 missed playoffs
2015 Greenville Drive (A) 72 68 .514 missed playoffs
2016 Greenville Drive (A) 70 69 .504 missed playoffs
2017 Greenville Drive (A) 79 60 .568 league champions
2018 Portland Sea Dogs (AA) 63 76 .453 missed playoffs
Total 379 377 .501

Source:[3]

Team USA

In April 2021, Fenster was named as a coach for the United States national baseball team, for the team's final efforts to qualify for baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[9] After the team qualified, Fenster was named the team's third-base coach for the Olympics.[10] The team went on to win silver, falling to Japan in the gold-medal game.[11]

References

  1. ^ Darren Fenster - Assistant Coach, Rutgers Scarlet Knights baseball, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 9, 2011. Accessed August 28, 2019. "A native of Middletown, N.J., Fenster is also a part of four appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including three as a player.... A 1996 graduate of Middletown High School South, Fenster was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. He currently resides in Neptune."
  2. ^ "All-Time Cotuit Kettleers Alumni". kettleers.org. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "Darren Fenster Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  4. ^ "Red Sox Announce 2012 Minor League Staffs". milb.com. January 20, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  5. ^ Franklin, Paul. "N.J. native and Rutgers star Darren Fenster managing an unplanned career", The Times (Trenton), August 5, 2018. Accessed August 28, 2019.
  6. ^ "Fenster named Sea Dogs' manager", Portland Sea Dogs, January 9, 2018. Accessed August 28, 2019. "The Boston Red Sox have named Darren Fenster the manager of the Portland Sea Dogs. Fenster replaces Carlos Febles, who was promoted to the Red Sox as their third-base coach."
  7. ^ "Joe Oliver named Portland Sea Dogs manager". Bangor Daily News. January 11, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  8. ^ Rabasco, Nick (February 8, 2022). "Minor Notes: Sox sign Taylor Cole, announce Player Development moves". soxprospects.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  9. ^ "USA Baseball Finalizes 2021 Professional National Team Staff". USA Baseball. April 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Rhim, Kris; Speier, Alex (July 2, 2021). "Red Sox minor-leaguers Triston Casas, Jack Lopez named to US baseball team for Olympics". Boston.com. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  11. ^ "Baseball/Softball - United States vs Japan - Gold Medal Game Results". olympics.com. August 7, 2021. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.

Further reading

Sporting positions
Preceded by Gulf Coast League Red Sox manager
2013 		Succeeded by