Robert Perry Lillis is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 infielder

Infielder

An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...

, manager

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

, coach

Coach (baseball)

In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...

 and scout in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

. Lillis was an original member of the expansion Houston Colt .45s who remained with the club (renamed the Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

 in ) for more than two decades and later became its manager.

After attending the University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

, Lillis signed his first contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

 in . A shortstop

Shortstop

Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...

 by trade, he spent eight years in the Dodger farm system, buried (along with many others) behind Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese

Pee Wee Reese

Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from to . A ten-time All Star, Reese contributed to seven National League championships for the Dodgers and, was inducted...

. Finally, in , the team's first season in Lillis's home city of Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, he made the major league team. But Lillis never claimed the regular shortstop job — that would go to Maury Wills

Maury Wills

Maurice Morning "Maury" Wills is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers , and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos...

 — and in the middle of the campaign, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

. After a half season with the Redbirds, he was selected by Houston in the 1961 MLB expansion draft

1961 MLB Expansion Draft

The 1961 MLB Expansion Draft was held by Major League Baseball on October 10, 1961 to fill the rosters of the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s. The Mets and the Colts were the new franchises which would enter the league in the 1962 season...

.

Lillis then spent 5½ seasons as a shortstop and utility infielder for the Astros, retiring to a coaching position in the middle of 1967. Over his ten-year MLB career, Lillis appeared in 817 games and batted

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 .236 with three home runs. He threw and batted right-handed.

After scouting and player development posts with Houston from 1968–72, Lillis returned to the Astro coaching staff in 1973 and served under managers Leo Durocher

Leo Durocher

Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...

, Preston Gomez

Preston Gómez

Preston Gómez was a Cuban-born infielder, manager, coach and front-office official in Major League Baseball best known for managing three major league clubs: the San Diego Padres , Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs . He was born Pedro Gómez Martinez in Preston, Cuba, and was given his nickname in U.S...

 and Bill Virdon

Bill Virdon

William Charles Virdon is a former outfielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. A premier defensive outfielder during his playing days as a center fielder for the St...

. On August 10, , he succeeded Virdon as manager with the club in fifth place in the National League West Division. Lillis led the team to 28 wins in 51 games and was rehired for full seasons from 1983-85. But Houston never climbed above second place, and even though Lillis compiled a winning 276-261 (.514) record during that period, he was replaced by Hal Lanier

Hal Lanier

Harold Clifton Lanier is a former infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. From through , Lanier played for the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees...

 at the close of the 1985 campaign.

He then joined the coaching staff of a former Dodger teammate, Roger Craig

Roger Craig (baseball)

Roger Craig may refer to:*Roger Craig , former NFL running back*Roger Craig , former pitcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball...

, with the San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

, and remained with the team for 11 years (through ).

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