​Phil Regan, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 13 MLB seasons, including five with the Chicago Cubs, died on Wednesday. Regan also served as the Cubs pitching coach under manager Jim Riggleman in 1997 and 1998, and he later coached in Cleveland and New York with the Mets. He managed the Baltimore Orioles in 1994.
Regan began his major league career in 1960 with the Detroit Tigers, primarily as a starter during his early years. After a challenging 1965, he was traded to the Dodgers for infielder Dick Tracewski. The Dodgers’ brain trust converted Regan into a reliever, and he enjoyed a standout 1966 season, recording 21 saves and 14 wins while helping Los Angeles capture the National League pennant. His nickname, “The Vulture,” stemmed from that year, as seven of his wins came in extra innings. In an era when starting pitchers usually earned most of the wins, Regan’s late-inning successes earned him that moniker, a sign of the times.
Regan’s effectiveness dipped somewhat in 1967, and with the Dodgers finishing under .500, he and Jim Hickman were traded to the Cubs for Ted Savage and Jim Ellis early in the 1968 season. The move looked like a steal for Chicago at first. Regan delivered a breakout year with the Cubs in 1968, appearing in 68 games and pitching 127 innings to a 2.20 ERA and a 1.047 WHIP. He also saved 25 games and posted a 10-5 record, once again “vulturizing” some wins in a time when relievers often logged longer outings.
Manager Leo Durocher seemed set on Regan as a closer for a Cubs team expected to contend in 1969. Yet Durocher overworked Regan, and August brought a 5.48 ERA over 13 appearances covering 21.1 innings. By the end of August 1969, Regan had made 62 appearances and logged 103.2 innings, an extraordinary workload even by the standards of the era. The team’s fortunes deteriorated, highlighted by a Sept. 7 loss to the Pirates when Regan was one strike away from securing a win that would have ended an 11-inning affair and halted an eight-game losing streak that ruined the Cubs’ season.
Regan’s faith from the Cubs faded as he endured a rough 1970, with 12 saves but nine blown saves, and by 1971 he was largely relegated to mop-up duty. The White Sox acquired him for cash in June 1972, and he finished his playing career there. After hanging up his spikes, Regan embarked on a long coaching career that included two stints as Cubs pitching coach. He remained in the game, coaching in the Mets organization in 2019 and, at age 82, stepping in to replace Dave Eiland as the Mets’ MLB pitching coach for a season. He retired from baseball following the 2019 season.
In summary, Phil Regan’s career spanned more than two decades as a pitcher and coach, marked by a powerful late-innings presence, notable bullpen success, and a long arc of coaching influence across multiple organizations, including a defining period with the Cubs in the late 1960s and a later transition to managerial and pitching coach roles.