Former Astros coach dies years after emergency brain surgery

Former Houston Astros coach Rich Dauer has died at the age of 72, years after he underwent an emergency brain surgery the day of the team’s World Series celebration.

Dauer played for the Baltimore Orioles from 1976-1985 and won the World Series with them in 1983. As a player, he was known for his great glove in the infield.

In 1978, Dauer set American League records by going 86 consecutive errorless games and having 425 straight errorless chances. Dauer also played his college baseball at USC and won two College World Series with the Trojans.

After his playing career ended, Dauer went into coaching. He had coaching stints with the Cleveland Indians (1990–1991), Kansas City Royals (1997–2002), Milwaukee Brewers (2003–2005), Colorado Rockies (2009–2012) and Houston Astros (2015-2017). Dauer was part of the Astros’ World Series-winning coaching staff in 2017. He underwent an emergency surgery for his brain the day of the team’s championship parade and then came back to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in 2018.