Phil Regan, a right-handed relief pitcher who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball and was known as “The Vulture” for his ability to come in from the bullpen and steal a win from a starter, has died at age 89.
In addition to his long tenure as a player, coach, and briefly, a manager in MLB, Regan, who grew up in Michigan, was a sought-after manager in the warm climates of the Caribbean winter leagues as a manager, leading the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Republic to the LIDOM championship in the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons and the Caribbean Series title in 1988, and then managed in Venezuela’s Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional from 1989 through 2009, leading five different teams and winning the league title with the Leones del Caracas in 1990 and the Navegantes del Magallanes in 2002.
As a pitcher, Regan was a stalwart reliever, pitching six seasons for the Detroit Tigers in his native Michigan from 1960-65 before going to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he had his best season in 1966, throwing 116 2/3 innings while posting a 1.62 ERA, a 0.934 FIP, a 203 ERA+ and a 2.33 FIP in a year where he finished 48 games and earned 21 saves.
During his tenure with the Dodgers, he was nicknamed “The Vulture” by teammate Sandy Koufax for his ability to come in from the bullpen and get credited with a win. Regan went 96-81 in 551 career MLB games, making 446 relief appearances where he earned 58 of his wins.
He then went to the Chicago Cubs, where he went 12-6 with a 3.70 ERA in 112 innings on the Cubs’ team that coughed up their lead in the National League East to a hot New York Mets team when they had an eight-game losing skid in September. Baseball historians frequently chalk the collapse up to manager Leo Durocher’s over-reliance on his starters and key pitchers, of whom Regan was one. He made 71 appearances out of the bullpen that year and finished 49 games for the Cubbies, posting a 3.70 ERA and a 109 ERA+.
Following his playing career, Regan began coaching, first at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Mich., where he was head coach from 1973-82 before joining the Seattle Mariners organization, first as a scout and later as pitching coach for the Major League club. He later scouted and coached for the Dodgers and Cleveland Indians before getting his lone MLB managing job with the Baltimore Orioles in 1995, leading them to a 71-73 record in the strike-shortened season before he was fired and replaced by Davey Johnson.
“When he got to the big leagues as a manager, he said that he was becoming the first Venezuelan manager to manage in the big leagues,” said Daniel Alvarez-Montes, a Miami-based baseball writer for El Extrabase who was born in Caracas, Venezuela. “That just tells you how much he appreciated the country, how much he appreciated baseball in Latin America, but especially in Venezuela, and how much he appreciated Venezuelan baseball players. Because they made them a better coach, a better manager, and I’m sure he made a lot of them better players, better humans as well.”
Alvarez posted photos to social media network X of himself with Regan, including one where Regan is holding him when he was a baby while he’s wearing Regan’s Leones cap, and another of the two on the field at loanDepot Park in Miami, this time with a grown Alvarez wearing Regan’s New York Mets cap.
RIP, Phil ??? pic.twitter.com/k12bhnoYfI
— Daniel Álvarez-Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) July 8, 2026
In the years that followed his brief tenure as an MLB skipper, Regan continued to coach and manage in the minor leagues for MLB organizations and manage in Latin America in the winter, leading the Leones del Caracas, Navegantes del Magallanes, Cardenales de Lara, Bravos de Margarita, and Tiburones de La Guaira in the LVBP.
From 2009-15, he served as the pitching coach for the St. Lucie Mets of the Class-A Florida State League, then serving as the New York Mets’ minor league pitching coordinator from 2106-19 when he took over as the New York Mets’ pitching coach mid-season after the club parted ways with Dave Eiland.
He returned to the Dominican Republic as the pitching coach for the Toros del Este for the 2019-20 LIDOM season, winning the league title and the fifth Caribbean Series of his coaching career.
But like Buddy Bailey, another long-time minor league coach and manager, his lasting impact in Venezuela will forever be remembered.
“He will be remembered in the best possible way by every Venezuelan fan that was able to follow the teams where he managed or that he managed against because everyone respected him, and because he respected every single person,” Alvarez said. “He will be deeply missed by everybody.”
Photo: Phil Regan an assistant minor league pitching coordinator, throws batting practice with New York Mets players before a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 7, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
