Legendary MLB Coach, Scout Who Starred in Japan Passes Away
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Jack Bloomfield, a longtime MLB scout and coach who gained fame as one of the first American-born baseball stars in Japan, died on Monday. He was 95.
Bloomfield enjoyed a career in professional baseball that spanned more than 50 years as a player, coach and scout with the Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and San Diego Padres.
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The Monte Alto, Texas, native excelled in baseball, tennis, basketball and fast-pitch softball before he was drafted into the Army in 1951. Bloomfield served two years abroad during the Korean War.
After returning home, Bloomfield spent five seasons as a minor league infielder in the Braves, Reds, Athletics and Pirates organizations. He then became one of the first Americans to play professionally in Japan when he signed with the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1960. He won back-to-back Pacific League batting titles in 1962 and 1963.
In seven seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, Bloomfield compiled a .315 batting average and a .472 slugging percentage in more than 2,400 at-bats.
A candle and two roses sit in front of Gate 4 at Yankee Stadium, after the death of George Steinbrenner July 13, 2010 in the Bronx borough of New York City.
A candle and two roses sit in front of Gate 4 at Yankee Stadium, after the death of George Steinbrenner July 13, 2010 in the Bronx borough of New York City.After he retired as a player, Bloomfield returned to his home in Texas. He was lured back to professional baseball with his first job as a scout with the San Diego Padres in 1967.
Bloomfield would later spend one season (1974) as the Padres' major league hitting coach. From 1975-78, Bloomfield managed in the minor leagues with the Chicago Cubs organization.
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Prior to the 1979 season, Bloomfield returned to scouting — a role he would hold for the remainder of his career in baseball. He retired for good in 1995 after 32 years as a scout with a variety of clubs.
"I sure have had an interesting life," Bloomfield said in a 2022 interview with the Journal Gazette. "Didn't realize it as much until my daughter wanted to write a book and I started digging up information and stories of famous people I had met that were in all phases of life."
More news: Former Mets Pitcher Traded for Hall of Fame Manager Passes Away
Bloomfield was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. He was inducted into the Texas Scouting Hall of Fame in 2008, and was one of five recipients of the Legends of Scouting Award from the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation in 2012.
Bloomfield is survived by his wife, Betty, four children, eight granchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.
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