Gaylen Pitts (Photo courtesy of Society for American Baseball Research)
One of the best baseball players to come out of Mountain Home High School and who managed and coached in the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization has died at the age of 78. Gaylen Pitts died this past week in Santa Fe, N.M., where he and his wife Julia had moved several years ago to be with her ailing mother. Julia died in 2022.
Gaylen was a three sport star for the Bombers, playing baseball football and basketball and was in the inaugural MHHS Athletic Hall of Honor class of 2010.
After graduating in 1964, Pitts signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a shortstop and moved through their farm system to their triple A team at Tulsa.
In 1971, he was traded to Oakland. With the A’s, he played in 28 Major League games in the 1974 and ’75 seasons. In 44 at bats, Pitts hit .250 with four doubles and four runs batted in.
Pitts began his managing career with Oakland’s farm system, leading the Modesto A’s in 1978 and 1979.
He returned to the Cardinals in 1981. He managed the Arkansas Travelers in 1981 and 1982 and again in 1989. He then led the Springfield, Ill., affiliate in 1986 and ’87 and also their Johnson City team.
Pitts won division titles both years in Springfield and led the Travelers to the Texas League championship in 1989, winning the Manager of the Year honor.
After that, he was able to make it to the big club in St. Louis. Pitts’ first five years with the Cardinals was on Joe Torre’s staff, serving as hitting coach in 1991, bullpen coach in 1992 and as bench coach in 1995.
Torre was fired during the 1995 season and Pitts returned to the minor leagues. He managed the Cardinals triple A team in Louisville in 1997 before they moved to Memphis. He stayed with them another four years until 2002. They won the Pacific Coast League championship in 2000 when 20-year-old Albert Pujols hit a walk-off home run.
Pitts later became the Cardinals special assistant for player development in 2009 and served in that role until joining manager Mike Matheny’s staff.
Former Mountain Home baseball coach Don Webb was a long time friend of Pitts. He says Pitts never let any of his success go to his head.
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Webb says Pitts would try to make time to talk to his baseball teams when he could.
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Webb says some of his favorite memories of Pitts are the times they spent together on the river.
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No funeral arrangements for Gaylen Pitts have been announced yet.
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