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Community Corner

Oakland A's Manager Rides Rollercoaster of Firings and Successes

Menlo-Atherton High grad has been in Major League Baseball in various capacities for over 30 years, but finds inspiration from his family.

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Written by Rick Eymer

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When Bob Melvin was playing sports, particularly baseball, at Menlo-Atherton High in the late 1970s, his classmates already had the sense Melvin would make it to the next level.

Since signing a professional contract with the Detroit Tigers in 1981, Melvin has rode a roller coaster of success and failure.

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The 51-year-old Melvin currently manages the Oakland Athletics, a team he took over in the middle of the 2011 season after they failed to meet expectations.

Entering play on Wednesday, Melvin has won over 55 percent of the 276 games he’s managed in Oakland. He led the A’s to an unexpected American League West Division title last year and has them winning over 70 percent of their games early this season.

But he hasn’t always been at the top.

Following a 10-year playing career, one in which he never played more than 93 games (out of 162) in any given season, Melvin turned to coaching.

His first managerial stop was with the Seattle Mariners, where he led the team to a second-place in the AL West in 2003. He was fired after losing 99 games the following season.

The Arizona Diamondbacks hired him for 2005. After two losing seasons, the Diamondbacks won the National League West Division in 2007, earning Melvin the NL Manager of the Year Award. He was let go by the Diamondbacks early in the 2009 season.

Melvin enjoyed his most productive seasons with the San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles between 1986-91.

Through his professional career, Melvin also dealt with personal adversity. His daughter, Alexi, born in 1988, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.

What inspires him? His family is at the top of the list. Alexi currently works in film as a writer, actress and director. The family is deeply involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Yet Melvin, a meticulous, detail-oriented manager, is still known as a solid baseball man. His career has had plenty of ups and downs.

He was Detroit’s first round pick in 1981, and made his major league debut with the Tigers in 1985, the year after the Tigers won the World Series.

When the Giants obtained him, they were in the midst of a rebuilding process. Melvin helped them get to the mountain top, but he was in Baltimore when the Giants played in the 1989 World Series.

He’s brought the Mariners, Diamondbacks, and now the A's, to the brink of success. He won his second Manager of the Year Award in the American League last year.

“In baseball, change is pretty consistent,” Melvin said. “There’s a lot of turnover, people move around. I’ve been a player, coach and manager for a long time and I always thought I would get another opportunity for a job if I kept working hard.”

That attitude has helped Melvin maintain a good perspective on life, baseball and, most important, family.

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