text: jeff banister jeffery todd banister ( born january 15 , 1964 ) is an american retired professional baseball player and current manager of the texas rangers of major league baseball . before joining the rangers , banister spent 29 years within the organization of the pittsburgh pirates as a player and coach in both the pirates ' major and minor league system . banister played baseball at la marque high school in la marque , texas . he developed bone cancer in his sophomore year , which almost necessitated the amputation of his leg . while playing college baseball for lee college , he suffered a home plate collision that broke three vertebrae in his neck , leaving him paralyzed for ten days . after rehabilitating , he was named a junior college all - american the next season , and received a scholarship to the university of houston , to play for the houston cougars baseball team . he was then drafted by the pirates in 1986 . after playing in minor league baseball , he appeared in a major league game on july 23 , 1991 , recording a hit in his only plate appearance . he did not appear in another major league game , and ended his playing career after the 1993 season . following his playing career , banister remained with the pirates . he served as a manager for their minor league baseball affiliates from 1994 through 1998 , and then as a minor league and major league field coordinator until 2010 . the pirates considered him for their managerial vacancy before the 2011 season , but hired him as their bench coach . he served in the role through the 2014 season . the rangers hired banister as their manager during the 2014 – 15 offseason , and he was named the american league manager of the year for 2015 . playing career amateur career banister attended la marque high school in la marque , texas . at la marque , banister played for the school 's baseball , basketball , and american football teams . during his sophomore year of high school , banister injured his right ankle while playing baseball . during an examination of his ankle , which was slow to heal , he was diagnosed with bone cancer . he had developed cysts that required skin grafting to treat . an infection in his leg led to the development of osteomyelitis , which spread from his right ankle to just below his knee . doctors recommended amputation in order to save the rest of his leg , but banister refused , as he hoped he would be able to continue his baseball career . doctors performed seven operations on his leg , which saved it from being amputated . in his senior year , banister suffered a knee injury playing american football , which nearly led to him being cut from the baseball team due to his decreased mobility . his father suggested he change positions and become a catcher , which allowed him to remain on the baseball team . at a tryout conducted by professional scouts , banister was noticed by the coaches at lee college , a junior college in baytown , texas . they recruited banister to play college baseball at lee . while catching in a 1983 game , he suffered a collision at home plate , where the baserunner attempted to jump over him , and hit banister in the head with his knee . the collision broke three of the vertebrae in his neck . banister was not originally scheduled to play in that game ; a scout for the new york yankees of major league baseball ( mlb ) told lee 's coach that he hoped to see banister catch , which resulted in banister being added to the starting lineup in a last - minute change . as a result of the collision , banister was paralyzed from the neck down for ten days . doctors initially warned him that he may never walk again . he had another three operations performed on his back and learned how to walk again during the 1984 season . entering the hospital weighing 225 pounds ( 102 kg ) , he weighed 139 pounds ( 63 kg ) when he was discharged . banister recovered and played another season for lee in 1985 , and was named a junior college all - american . he transferred to university of houston after the season to play for the houston cougars baseball team on a scholarship in 1986 . professional career the pittsburgh pirates selected banister in the 25th round of the 1986 major league baseball draft ; he was the player chosen in the draft . playing in minor league baseball , banister made his professional debut as a member of the watertown pirates of the class a - short season new york – penn league in 1986 . he had a batting average in 46 games played . in 1987 , he played for the macon pirates of the class a south atlantic league , and batted .254 in 101 games . banister then played 71 games for the harrisburg senators of the class aa eastern league in 1988 , batting .259 . he returned to harrisburg in 1989 , when he batted .238 in 102 games . he was named an eastern league all - star in 1989 . he returned to harrisburg for the 1990 season , and recorded a .269 batting average in 101 games . during the 1990 season , he received a promotion to the buffalo bisons of the class aaa american association . in 12 games for the bisons , banister batted .320 . banister began the 1991 season with buffalo . the pirates promoted banister from the minor leagues on july 23 , 1991 , when catcher don was injured and placed on the disabled list . manager jim leyland used banister as a pinch hitter for pitcher doug drabek in the eighth inning of that day 's game against the atlanta braves at three rivers stadium . using cecil espy 's bat , banister hit a ball from dan petry and just beat shortstop jeff blauser 's throw to first base . banister is one of only 15 batters ( excluding pitchers ) in baseball history to record a hit in his only major league plate appearance . banister was sent back to buffalo without playing in another game for pittsburgh . he finished the class aaa season with a .244 average in 79 games . he missed the 1992 season when he suffered a right elbow injury that required surgery . banister served as a player - coach for the carolina mudcats of the class aa southern league in 1993 . playing in only eight games , he had a .333 batting average . after the season , he ended his playing career . he retired with a career .247 batting average in 515 minor league games played . coaching / managing career overview after retiring as a player , banister remained with the pirates ' organization . from 1994 through 1998 , banister served as a manager in the pirates ' minor league system . he served as the manager of the welland pirates of the new york – penn league in 1994 . a year later , he managed the augusta greenjackets of the south atlantic league , and led them to win the league 's championship . banister managed in the hawaiian winter league in the 1995 and 1996 offseasons . from 1996 through 1997 , he was the manager of the lynchburg hillcats of the class a - advanced carolina league . midway through the 1997 season , he was named the manager of the carolina mudcats , a position he held through the 1998 season . banister had a 299 – 330 win - loss record ( a .475 winning percentage ) as a manager from 1994 through 1998 . from 1999 through 2002 , banister worked as pittsburgh 's major league field coordinator on the coaching staffs of managers gene lamont and lloyd mcclendon . he was then assigned the job of minor league field coordinator , and served in that role from 2003 through 2010 . in 2004 , he served as the interim manager of lynchburg when jay resigned from the position due to personal reasons . banister became the interim pitching coach for lynchburg in 2008 when bob resigned from the position . mike steele then took the job from banister in 2009 . banister managed the scottsdale scorpions of the arizona fall league ( afl ) in 2009 . on august 8 , 2010 , banister was named the pirates ' interim bench coach after gary was fired by the organization . at the end of the 2010 season , the pirates fired manager john russell . banister and clint hurdle were the two finalists for the position . the pirates named hurdle as their manager , and banister was named their full - time bench coach . as the pirates bench coach , banister learned about sabermetrics from a quantitative analyst who traveled with the team . banister learned to use quantitative data to inform his decisions on when the pirates should employ defensive shifts in the field . he was initially chosen to manage scottsdale in the afl after the 2014 season , but he was replaced by pirates ' special assistant frank kremblas due to the possibility of the pirates reaching the mlb postseason . after the 2014 season , banister interviewed with the houston astros as a candidate to fill their managing vacancy , following the firing of bo porter . the astros instead hired a. j. hinch . he also interviewed with the texas rangers , and was a finalist for the position along with rangers ' interim manager tim bogar and pitching coach mike maddux . on october 16 , 2014 , the rangers named banister their new manager . he signed a three - year contract with an option for a fourth season . jon daniels , the rangers ' general manager , indicated that banister will help the rangers to incorporate analytics into their baseball decisions . as banister and daniels began to discuss the coaching staff for the 2015 season , it was decided that bogar , who had a 14 – 8 record ( .636 winning percentage ) after ron washington 's resignation , would not return to the rangers under banister . banister retained maddux and hitting coach dave magadan on his coaching staff , but third base coach gary pettis left for the astros and first base coach bengie molina did not return to the team in that role . banister guided the rangers to the american league west division championship with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses . the rangers would end up losing to the toronto blue jays in the american league division series . banister was named the american league manager of the year after the season . during the 2015 – 16 offseason , the rangers extended banister 's contract through the 2018 season , with an option for the 2019 season , while also releasing pitching coach mike maddux and hitting coach dave magadan . bannister later hired former texas ranger , doug as the new pitching coach and anthony as the new hitting coach . managerial record as of july 11 , 2016 personal life banister was born on january 15 , 1964 . he is originally from weatherford , oklahoma . at the age of six , the banisters moved from weatherford to la marque . his father , bob , coached jeff at la marque high school on both the american football and basketball teams . his mother , verda , was an algebra teacher at la marque . he has a sister , carey . in 1988 , his father died at the age of 48 due to a heart attack . his grandfather died of a heart attack three weeks later . banister met his wife , karen , while they were students at the university of houston . karen worked as a teacher at clear lake high school in houston . the banisters have two children : alexandra and jacob . alexandra is a college volleyball player . the banisters reside in arlington , texas . banister won the inaugural gilda radner courage award . in 2011 , banister won the " pride of the pirates " award for demonstrating his " sportsmanship , dedication and outstanding character " .