3054-1 Pioneer's Terry Cochran Retires After 50 years
Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 5:27 pm
Pioneer’s Terry Cochran Retires After 50 Years
The longest serving current BBA manager, Calgary’s Terry Cochran, has announced his retirement after 23 years running the club and 50 years with the Calgary organization. He finishes his career with 1957 wins, second most in BBA history behind Travis McDermott. In his 23 seasons Cochran’s teams made the playoffs 12 times, fourth most in BBA history, but he never won a championship.
“I can’t think of anyone that means more to this team than Terry. He was drafted the year I took over the team and we have been together ever since,” GM Kevin Dickson said. “It is a shame that he had to leave after such a terrible season, but he played and managed far more good ones than bad.”
Cochran was drafted in 2004, one of 6 picks the team had in the first round that year due to supplemental picks. Pitcher Steve Thomas and outfielder Pat Curry, from that group, also went on to distinguished careers. After spending 4 seasons in the minors, Cochran made his BBA debut in 2008. Some wonder if the team had brought him up sooner whether his HOF credentials would have been better.
He won the Joe Gillstrom Award his rookie year hitting .307 with 35 homers and 111 RBIs. Over the 16 years he was on the field, he helped lead Calgary to Brewster trophies in 2018 and 2021. He was only selected to 3 All Star teams, mainly because he played in the same league and time as the legendary Frank Thomas III, coming in second to him many times.
After he retired as a player following the 2023 season, he took over as the hitting coach in Quebec (A ball) a post he held for 3 seasons. He spent the next holding the same spot for AAA St. Paul, winning 2 championships there before taking over the reigns in Calgary in 2031. He finishes with a 1957-1764 record in 3721 games as a BBA manager.
Cochran, during his playing career, hit .285 with a .856 OPS. He finished with 2613 hits, 491 home runs and 1502 RBIs in 16 seasons, all with Calgary. He was the first true DH in the BBA after the league changed the rules to allow for it. He is in the Calgary Hall of Fame, but not the BBA one. It is also notable that he ranks #9 on the BBA all time strikeout list with 2669 whiffs.
Cochran’s son Tommy is still playing in the BBA with the Montreal Blazers. He did play a couple of seasons with his dad in Calgary. No slouch, Tommy has run up 1523 hits, 309 home runs and 972 RBIs during his career. Some pretty good numbers for this family. Tommy’s son Tony may make it a third generation. Tommy will be a free agent this year, could he be wearing a Pioneer uniform again in the Spring?
Speculation is rampant about who the team will pick to replace him. The leading candidates are Calgary bench coach Nicholas Brody, AAA manager Esteban Ortiz or AA manager Tony Franco. All three were teammates of Cochran in Calgary.
The longest serving current BBA manager, Calgary’s Terry Cochran, has announced his retirement after 23 years running the club and 50 years with the Calgary organization. He finishes his career with 1957 wins, second most in BBA history behind Travis McDermott. In his 23 seasons Cochran’s teams made the playoffs 12 times, fourth most in BBA history, but he never won a championship.
“I can’t think of anyone that means more to this team than Terry. He was drafted the year I took over the team and we have been together ever since,” GM Kevin Dickson said. “It is a shame that he had to leave after such a terrible season, but he played and managed far more good ones than bad.”
Cochran was drafted in 2004, one of 6 picks the team had in the first round that year due to supplemental picks. Pitcher Steve Thomas and outfielder Pat Curry, from that group, also went on to distinguished careers. After spending 4 seasons in the minors, Cochran made his BBA debut in 2008. Some wonder if the team had brought him up sooner whether his HOF credentials would have been better.
He won the Joe Gillstrom Award his rookie year hitting .307 with 35 homers and 111 RBIs. Over the 16 years he was on the field, he helped lead Calgary to Brewster trophies in 2018 and 2021. He was only selected to 3 All Star teams, mainly because he played in the same league and time as the legendary Frank Thomas III, coming in second to him many times.
After he retired as a player following the 2023 season, he took over as the hitting coach in Quebec (A ball) a post he held for 3 seasons. He spent the next holding the same spot for AAA St. Paul, winning 2 championships there before taking over the reigns in Calgary in 2031. He finishes with a 1957-1764 record in 3721 games as a BBA manager.
Cochran, during his playing career, hit .285 with a .856 OPS. He finished with 2613 hits, 491 home runs and 1502 RBIs in 16 seasons, all with Calgary. He was the first true DH in the BBA after the league changed the rules to allow for it. He is in the Calgary Hall of Fame, but not the BBA one. It is also notable that he ranks #9 on the BBA all time strikeout list with 2669 whiffs.
Cochran’s son Tommy is still playing in the BBA with the Montreal Blazers. He did play a couple of seasons with his dad in Calgary. No slouch, Tommy has run up 1523 hits, 309 home runs and 972 RBIs during his career. Some pretty good numbers for this family. Tommy’s son Tony may make it a third generation. Tommy will be a free agent this year, could he be wearing a Pioneer uniform again in the Spring?
Speculation is rampant about who the team will pick to replace him. The leading candidates are Calgary bench coach Nicholas Brody, AAA manager Esteban Ortiz or AA manager Tony Franco. All three were teammates of Cochran in Calgary.
