Lee Elia, longtime MLB manager and coach known for legendary rant, dead at 87
Baseball lifer Lee Elia, who managed the Phillies and Cubs and went on one of baseball’s legendary rants, passed away this week.
He was 87.
Elia died Wednesday, roughly a week before what would have been his 88th birthday, the Phillies announced Thursday night, describing him as a “valued contributor.”
The Philadelphia native signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1958, but made his MLB debut with the White Sox in April 1966, appearing in 80 games, before the Cubs bought his contract in May of the following year.
Elia then played 15 games for the Cubs in 1968.
But Elia is remembered best for his time as a manager and coach, having stints with the Phillies, Cubs, Yankees, Mariners, Blue Jays, Rays and Orioles.
His first managerial job came in 1982 with the Cubs, where he spent two seasons as skipper, coaching the team to a 127-158 record.
Elia’s most infamous moment came in an expletive-filled rant with a small group of local reporters following a Cubs loss on April 29, 1983.
The roughly three-minute tirade included 30 “F-bombs,” according to the Chicago Tribune,” as Elia ripped critical Cubs fans following a 5-14 start on the season.
“It sounded like I was cursing the entire Cub kingdom,” Elia told the Chicago Tribune years later in an interview. “But that’s not true.”
Elia was eventually let go later in the 1983 season.
He returned to the managerial ranks in 1987 when the Phillies hired him for the role 61 games into the season, but he was fired after the 1988 campaign.
“Elia was a valued contributor to the Phillies for much of his half century in professional baseball,” the Phillies said in a statement. “The third base coach for the 1980 World Series championship team, he also spent time in the organization as a minor league player, manager, scout and director of instruction.
“Affiliated with 10 different organizations throughout his distinguished career, he always considered himself a Phillie at heart.”
Mariners manager Dan Wilson called Elia “special” and said “baseball has lost a giant,” according to USA Today.