Today In Dodger History: Dodgers Acquire 3B Tim Wallach From Expos
The Los Angeles Dodgers made a trade with the Montreal Expos for third baseman Tim Wallach and sent minor-leaguer Tim Barker to Montreal on this date in 1992. Wallach was a five-time All-Star with the Expos and came to Los Angeles after a season in which he hit .223 with nine home runs and 59 RBI.
Wallach became the Dodgers’ primary third baseman and would start 120 games at the position in his first season. He ended it hitting .222 with 12 home runs and 62 RBI in 133 total games in 1993. The right-handed hitting Wallach recovered in 1994 with his best season since 1990. He hit .280 with 23 home runs and 78 RBI in 113 games. The third baseman added 21 doubles and scored 68 runs to finish 18th in the MVP vote that year. He spent one more full season with the Dodgers in 1995 but played in just 97 games. Wallach hit .266 with nine home runs and 38 RBI in limited time.
He went on to sign with the California Angels after the 1995 season but lasted only 57 games before being released by the team. Wallach again signed with the Dodgers in the middle of the season and played in 45 games with the club. He hit .228 and it would be his last season in the major leagues. In his career, Wallach was a five-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, two-time Silver Slugger and the 1994 NL Comeback Player of the Year. He ended his career with 2,085 hits and 160 home runs over 17 seasons.
The now 56-year-old is the current Dodgers’ bench coach, after spending the past three seasons as the team’s third base coach. Wallach interviewed for managerial positions but wasn’t hired, prompting the team to promote him. He joined the Dodgers in 2004 and became their hitting coach under manager Jim Tracy. In 2009, he became manager of the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliates. He has three sons that have been drafted, two by the Dodgers.
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