Denis Menke obit

Denis Menke, 1993 Phillies hitting coach, dies at 80

 

He was not on the list.

Denis Menke, a three-time All Star and the hitting coach for the 1993 National League champion Phillies, died earlier this month. He was 80.

Mr. Menke, who died on Dec. 1, played 13 major-league seasons for the Milwaukee Atlanta Braves, Astros, and Reds before becoming a coach. He started all seven games of the 1972 World Series as Cincinnati’s third baseman as the Big Red Machine fell to Oakland. Mr. Menke was an All Star in 1969 and 1970 with Houston, hitting a career-high .304 in 1970 for the Astros. He retired in 1974 with a .250 career batting average and 1,270 hits.

Mr. Menke was the Phillies hitting coach from 1989 to 1996 and was lauded for having an individual approach. He wore No. 4 until midway through his first season when the Phillies acquired Lenny Dykstra, who would take Mr. Menke’s number and become one of the catalysts for the offensive juggernaut Mr. Menke presided over in 1993.

The 1993 Phillies led the National League in hits, runs, doubles, RBIs, walks, extra-base, total bases, on-base percentage, and OPS. Four players drove in 85 or more runs, four players hit 18 or more homers, and eight players had 100 or more hits as the Phillies returned to the World Series for the first time in 10 years.

Mr. Menke is the third member of the 1993 team to die this year. Bullpen coach “Irish” Mike Ryan died in July and infielder Kim Batiste died in October. Larry Bowa, who coached third base, is the only living member of the team’s seven-member coaching staff.

Mr. Menke coached with the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros before joining the Phillies. He returned to Cincinnati, where he played two seasons, and was the Reds’ bench coach from 1997 to 2000. Mr. Menke retired in 2000, 41 years after he signed with the Milwaukee Braves for $125,000 as a 17-year-old in 1959.

“I’ve been very fortunate in my life. Baseball has been really good to me,” Menke told MLB.com in 2014. “Things happen. You’re surprised by things, but then you realize that life has to go on. That’s kind of the way I look at it. I still enjoy life.”

“I wouldn’t have changed anything. Grew up on a farm, entered baseball when I was 17 years old, and 40 years later I decided it was finally time to get out. I really did get out on my own terms. After the 2000 season in Cincinnati, I knew it was time to get out. It was a little harder for me to be around some of the high-priced players and the so-called superstars. And I decided it was time to get out. The scout who signed me said if you ever get tired to the point you’re not enjoying the game, it’s time to get out. And that’s what I did.”

Denis John Menke was born in Bancroft, Iowa, on July 21, 1940, and grew up on his family’s 480-acre farm. As a high school student at St. John’s in Bancroft, Menke was frequently the high scorer on the basketball team and was named the starting forward on the North Central Iowa Catholic Basketball team for 1955-56. He also proved to be a very talented baseball player, both as a shortstop and a pitcher, and it was no surprise why. His father, Walt Menke, was a hard-hitting outfielder for the minor-league Des Moines Demons and Springfield Browns in the 1930s. The Menke family was pretty well-known in Iowa for their baseball skills, and Denis’ brother Alan also played in the minors.

Menke spent a couple of weeks with the Class-B Cedar Rapids Braves and hit .267, including his first professional home run. After a couple of weeks, the 17-year-old was sent to the Midland (Texas) Braves, a Class-D team in the Sophomore League. He batted .285 and cracked 3 home runs in a game against Plainview. He attended the Florida Instructional League but was hampered by finger and shoulder injuries most of the time. Injuries limited his playing time and effectiveness in 1959 as well, but he regained prized prospect status in 1960 with a monster season for the Yakima Braves of the Northwest League.

Menke finished second in the league with 28 home runs, fifth with 103 RBIs and sixth in hitting at .336. He also drew 88 walks, showing an impressive batting eye. The Braves moved him all the way to AAA Vancouver in 1961, and he hit .291 with 15 home runs. He also took a big step forward in his fielding at shortstop, even as he spent the winter months in the instructional leagues learning the other infield positions. Vancouver manager Billy Hitchcock worked with the youngster to improve his defense, renewing the Braves’ hopes that he could replace veteran Johnny Logan at the position.

Menke made the Milwaukee roster in 1962 and made his debut in Los Angeles on April 14 at second base. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Johnny Podres. His first hit came off the Phillies’ Ed Keegan on April 25. Menke played every position in the infield and even started a game in left field. He was at third base, filling in for an injured Eddie Matthews, when he hit his first home run off Pittsburgh’s Earl Francis on May 15. It was a grand slam that accounted for all of the Braves’ runs in a 5-4 loss. His offensive highlights were few and far between though. He hit just .192 in a couple of stays with the Braves and spent most of the season with the AAA Toronto Maple Leafs.

Menke claimed a permanent spot on the Milwaukee roster in 1963, even if he didn’t have a specific position. He played in a total of 147 games — 82 at shortstop, 51 at third base, 22 at second base, 1 at first base and 1 in left field. Braves boss John McHale wanted to see him stick at shortstop, but Charlie Dressen, his manager in Toronto, called him the best right-handed first baseman he’d ever seen — and he saw plenty of Gil Hodges.

During his career, Menke hit 101 home runs and compiled a batting average of .250. In 1964, Menke hit 20 home runs, his single season best. In 1970, as a Houston Astro, he compiled a .304 batting average, the only time he hit over .300 as a major leaguer. In 1969, Menke and Houston outfielder Jim Wynn hit grand slam home runs in the same inning.

Menke was a versatile player in the field. He played first, second, third base, shortstop, and 5 games as an outfielder. Menke compiled a career fielding percentage of .969. He played his last major league game July 10, 1974 with the Houston Astros.

Menke was one of the five Houston players who went to the Reds in a blockbuster trade between the 1971 and 1972 seasons. Along with Menke, the Reds received future Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan, starting pitcher Jack Billingham, center fielder César Gerónimo and utility outfielder Ed Armbrister, while the Astros received second baseman Tommy Helms, first baseman Lee May and utility infielder Jimmy Stewart. This trade is generally regarded as being one of the most lopsided in the history of Major League Baseball, as it was a major force in developing the Big Red Machine that would go on to win back-to-back World Series in 1975 and 1976, although Menke would be traded back to Houston before then.