Charles Keith Cottier (January 8, 1936 – February 1, 2021) was an American second baseman, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball (MLB).Career statistics and history at Baseball-Reference.com
Born in Delta, Colorado, Cottier graduated from Grand Junction High School, where he lettered in four sports – baseball, basketball, football and wrestling.Howe News Bureau, Seattle Mariners 1982 Organization Book He batted and threw right-handed, standing and weighing .
Cottier was a good-fielding, light-hitting infielder during his nine-year big league playing career. He appeared in 580 games and compiled a lifetime batting average of .220 with 348 hits, 63 doubles, 17 triples and 19 home runs with the Milwaukee Braves (1959–60), Detroit Tigers (1961), Washington Senators (1961–65) and California Angels (1968–69). He finished his career with an overall .973 fielding percentage.
His playing career ended in May when he sustained an Achilles tendon injury as a member of the Angels and began his minor league managing career in .
Cottier was in his third season as the Seattle Mariners' third base coach in 1984 when manager Del Crandall was fired with 27 games left and Cottier was appointed interim manager on September 1. He led the team through 1985 and into the first 28 games of 1986. With the M's at 9–19, sixth in the AL West, Cottier was fired on May 8 and succeeded by interim manager Marty Martínez for one game before Dick Williams took over. His career record as a major league manager was .Managerial record at Baseball-Reference.com
Cottier also was a coach for the New York Mets (1979–81), Chicago Cubs (1988–94), Baltimore Orioles (1995) and Philadelphia Phillies (1997–2000);Coaching records at Retrosheet.org he was a major league scout for the New York Yankees, and a special assistant to the general manager for the Washington Nationals.Leventhal, Josh, ed., Baseball America 2011 Directory, Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2011, page 75
Cottier died on February 1, 2021, at the age of 85.
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