Remembering Billy DeMars
The Phillies’ hitting coach for the 1980 World Champions passed away on Thursday at 95 years old.
The Phillies family suffered another loss on Thursday with the passing of former coach Billy DeMars.
DeMars coached for 13 years with the Phillies, serving as the hitting coach for three straight National League East title winners (1976–78) and the first World Series champions in franchise history (1980).
“Billy DeMars was the ultimate ‘baseball man,’” former Phillies broadcaster Chris Wheeler said. “That’s a guy who lives the game 24/7. Billy was a valued member of the Phillies organization as a major league coach and later as a minor league instructor.”
DeMars was a baseball lifer. The Brooklyn native was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Philadelphia Athletics in 1947. He played a season in Philadelphia and two for the St. Louis Browns before moving into coaching.
Before coaching in the majors, DeMars spent 11 seasons as a manager in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system. One pitcher he coached was former Phillies President and General Manager, Pat Gillick.
DeMars coached under six different Phillies managers and became a player favorite. After the Phillies, he coached for the Montreal Expos and Cincinnati Reds at the request of Pete Rose.
“Pete Rose thought Billy was the best he’d ever known,” Wheeler said. “Billy was a tireless worker who always was ready to go to the batting cages and work with players.”
Phillies utility player Del Unser knew he could count on DeMars, even in the most high-stakes situations.
Just before the first pitch of the fifth and final game of the 1980 National League Championship Series at the Astrodome, Unser didn’t feel right. To shake out the nerves and break out of his funk, he wanted more work in the hitting cage, despite how close they were to starting the elimination game. He sought out DeMars.
“He said ‘What? Why do you want to do that now?’” Unser said. “He laughed, but then we went down there and got to work.”
The extra reps ended up being monumental. With new confidence, Unser came up as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and hit an RBI single, capping a three-run comeback in the inning that chased Nolan Ryan out of the game. Unser went on to be a World Series hero as well.
“It was huge,” Unser said. “We still laugh about it years afterwards.”
DeMars retired to Clearwater, Florida. He remained close with the Phillies organization and frequently visited the Carpenter Complex to help mentor young hitters.
“We spoke last August on his 95th birthday and planned on dinner when I got to town in January,” Wheeler said. “During that conversation little had changed. He wanted to talk baseball, especially Phillies baseball.”
— Beyond the Bell contributor Graham Foley
