Lee Elia
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Lee Constantine Elia (born July 16, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is the bench coach for Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles. He previously was a manager of the Chicago Cubs (1982 - 1983) and the Philadelphia Phillies (1987 - 1988). Additionally, he has served as a coach for the Phillies, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Seattle Mariners.
Elia was a shortstop for Chicago White Sox in 1966 and a pinch hitter for the Cubs in 1968.
On April 29, 1983, during his tenure as the Cubs' manager, the Cubs suffered a one-run home loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. After the game, he held a post-game press conference at which he lashed out in a profanity-laced tirade directed at the fans at Wrigley Field—which at that time featured only daytime games—for booing and heckling the team. Most memorably, he opined:
- Eighty-five percent of the fuckin' world is working. The other fifteen come out here. A fuckin' playground for the cocksuckers.[1]
His comments have reached near legendary status with Cubs fans. The team was 5-14 at that point, but Elia felt that they were a better team than they were getting credit for being.
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - managing record and playing statistics
- ESPN.com article: Elia's tirade becomes part of Cubs' lore
- The tirade (unedited)
| Preceded by: Joey Amalfitano |
Chicago Cubs Manager 1982-1983 |
Succeeded by: Charlie Fox |
| Preceded by: John Felske |
Philadelphia Phillies Manager 1987-1988 |
Succeeded by: John Vukovich |
 |
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