Former major league player and coach Tony Scott recently passed away, per various sources, including Brent Maguire of MLB.com. Scott was 72 years old. A cause of death was not provided.
Scott was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1951. He attended Withrow High School in Cincinnati and the Montreal Expos selected him out of that school in the 71st round of the 1969 draft. He eventually made it to the big leagues with the Expos in 1973, the first of 11 major league seasons he would play in as a speed-and-defense outfielder.
That first season saw him get into 11 games but mostly as a pinch runner or defensive replacement, as he only stepped to the plate once. It was fairly similar in 1974, as he got into 19 contests but only receive eight plate appearances.
He finally got somewhat regular playing time in 1975, getting 159 trips to the plate over 92 games for Montreal that year. He stole five bases but was caught six times and hit just .182/.258/.238. He was kept in the minors in 1976 but performed well for Triple-A Denver, slashing .311/.361/.503 while stealing 18 bases in 24 tries.
In November of that year, he was traded to the Cardinals alongside Steve Dunning and Pat Scanlon, with Bill Greif, Sam Mejías and Ángel Torres going the other way. Scott got fairly regular playing time in St. Louis, getting into 487 games during the 1977-80 seasons. He hit .258/.313/.343 in his 1,663 plate appearances and also swiped 77 bags.
Midway through the 1981 campaign, the Cards traded him to the Astros for Joaquín Andújar. Scott played a fairly similar role with the Astros for a few years before being released in 1984. He returned to his original organization by signing with the Expos in June of that year, spending a couple of months with them in what eventually turned out to be his final stint as a major league player. He finished his playing career with 991 games played and 699 hits, including 17 home runs. He batted .249 and stole 125 bases.
After his playing career ended, Scott pivoted to coaching. He worked as a minor league coach in the Phillies’ system from 1989 to 2000 and was a part of the major league coaching staff in 2000 and 2001.
We at MLBTR send our condolences to Scott’s family, friends, former teammates and coaches and all those mourning him at this time.
Hard to believe Tony was 72. Solid player, mostly remember him from his Cardinal days.
Bless him and his family.
It really is. I was kind of shocked to read that he was 72
When I saw the name Tony Scott. I immediately thought of the director of Top Gun. Who unfortunately took his own live several years ago. Rest in Paradise to Tony Scott from this article.
Loved Scott’s filming style and direction. I was sad when he passed.
RIP to this Tony too.
“Enemy of the State” has a chase scene through an apartment I lived in in Washington, DC, 9 years after that 1998 film.
RIP
RIP Tony!
Rest in peace Tony Scott. Prayers for your family. As an Astro fan it was an absolute pleasure having you on the team.
I feel like Scott was playing within the last 20 years and was somewhere in his 50s. Time is relentless.
Ondolamces to family and
Condolences to family and friends.
My sympathy to all of Tony’s family and fans everywhere. I really enjoyed Tony Scott as a Cardinal. God Bless you Tony.
I’m going from my ever fading memory; wasn’t Tony Scott part of an all switch hitter lineup once?
Yes he was
Thankfully I’m somewhat accepting of my advancing age, or reading obituaries of names I recognize from my youth would cause me distress. My condolences to the family and congratulations to Tony for living the life so many of us could only dream of.
Couldn’t have said it better. Condolences to Tony’s family and friends. RIP.
True Romance was a fine film.
Sympathies to his family and friends.
It’s harder as I grow older to see players passing away when I can remember them playing. Life, I tell ya. Make sure to hug those you love.
Cool Breeze
RIP Tony…..
My first serious baseball season as a hardcore fan was 1972 when Billy Martin platooned an old Togers team to the playoffs. Almost every player on that Tigers’ team is gone and many rookies in seasons after that are too including Tony Scott. Time marches on.
The Tigers had their own OF version of Willie, Mickey and the Duke (Horton. Stanley and Sims). C Duke Sims was used in LF in the playoffs because Billy Martin thought he was a hot hitter.