Gene Tenace

Fury Gene Tenace (; born Fiore Gino Tenacci; October 10, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher and first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1969 through 1983, most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won three consecutive World Series championships between 1972 and 1974. Tenace was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics from Valley High School in Lucasville, Ohio, and played for the Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted and threw right-handed. Despite his relatively modest career batting average of .241, his career on-base percentage of .388 is the fourth-highest all-time among qualifying catchers, and his .429 slugging percentage was considerably above the average in the era he played. His 46.8 Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement (WAR) ranks 13th all-time among catchers, and his 7-year peak WAR is tied with Roy Campanella for 12th all-time among catchers. Also of note is that his career rWAR is fifth highest among all sub .250 hitters. Tenace's career 140 Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) are tied with Mike Piazza for the highest all-time among catchers. Tenace won the 1972 World Series Most Valuable Player Award. After his playing days ended, Tenace coached for several organizations, most notably for the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2023, he was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame.