Jesús Tiamo (born January 1, 1961) is a Venezuelan coach in Minor League Baseball (MiLB), for the DSL Phillies.[1] He served as the bullpen catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, a position he held from 2009–2017. Tiamo wore uniform number 81. In 2018, he became a coach for the DSL Phillies Red Team.[1]

Jesús Tiamo
Tiamo with the Phillies in 2016
Catcher / Bullpen catcher
Born: (1961-01-01) January 1, 1961 (age 63)
Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Teams
As coach

Tiamo graduated from Liceo Pedro María Freite, where he played both volleyball and baseball.[2]

Playing career

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Tiamo spent three seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system, from 1980 to 1981 and in 1983, playing as high as Class A. In 1980, he hit .303 with 19 runs batted in (RBI) for the GCL Pirates. In 1981, Tiamo hit .267 with five home runs, 75 RBI, and 13 stolen bases for the Greenwood Pirates. In 1983, he hit .261 with three home runs and 43 RBI for Greenwood. In total, Tiamo hit .268/.318/.371 with 8 home runs, 20 stolen bases, and 137 RBI in 988 at bats.[3] He played 77 games at catcher and 36 games at first base.[3]

Thereafter, Tiamo spent seven seasons with Navegantes del Magallanes of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. He played Venezuelan winter ball in 11 offseasons for four different teams: Magallanes (1980-1887), Zulia (1988), Lara (1989), and Oriente (1990).[2]

Tiamo played for the Venezuela national baseball team in the 1979 Pan American Games.[4]

Coaching career

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Prior to serving as the Phillies' bullpen catcher, Tiamo coached in the minor leagues for the Chicago White Sox from 1995 to 1999, the New York Mets from 2000 to 2007, and the Phillies in 2008 (as a coach in the Venezuelan Summer League).[5][6]

Tiamo first served as the Phillies bullpen catcher in 2009.[6] In 2016, at the age of 55, he was the oldest bullpen catcher in the major leagues.[7]

Tiamo was named the catching coach for the DSL Phillies for the 2018 season.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Press release: Phillies Announce 2020 Player Development Field Staff". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. February 7, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Manager and Coaches | Philadelphia Phillies Staff Bio
  3. ^ a b "Jesus Tiamo Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  4. ^ "Phillies 2016 Coaching Staff: Jesus Tiamo". 3 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Manager and Coaches - phillies.com: Team". MLB.com. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Jesus Tiamo: Phillies Bullpen Catcher". 13 February 2015.
  7. ^ Like father, like son for Phillies' bullpen catchers
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