Bo Porter Biography

Bo Porter (Marquis Donnell ”Bo” Porter) is an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. Porter was a special assistant to the Atlanta Braves general manager and former third base/outfield and base running coach for the Braves. He previously worked as manager of the Houston Astros for 2 seasons until his termination on September 1, 2014. In 2018, during spring training Porter ran the Major League Baseball Players Association free agent camp. He then became a television broadcaster for the Washington Nationals on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.

Bo Porter Education

Porter attended Weequahic High School in Newark, New Jersey in the South Ward, where he graduated. He was an all-state performer in baseball, basketball, and football. Porter then joined the University of Iowa, where he played baseball and football and received All-Big Ten Conference honors in both sports.

Bo Porter Career

Playing career

Bo was drafted in the 40th round of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft by the Chicago Cubs. He made his major-league debut with the Cubs in 1999. After the season, Porter was picked by the Oakland Athletics in the Rule 5 draft. Following the 2000 season, he was selected off waivers by the Texas Rangers. Porter was later granted free agency after the 2001 season and played the rest of his career in the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies minor league systems.

Post-playing career

Early career

He worked as the hitting coach for the Class A Greensboro Grasshoppers in 2005 and manager of the Class A-Advanced Jamestown Jammers in 2006. Bo also worked as Florida Marlins’ third base coach and outfield and baserunning instructor from 2007 to 2009.

Arizona Diamondbacks

In 2010, he became the Diamondbacks’ third base coach, following declining the Marlins’ offer to stay with the organization. After the firing of manager A. J. Hinch and the elevation of bench coach Kirk Gibson to interim manager in July 2010, Bo was elevated to bench coach. The Marlins then interviewed him for their managing position in mid-2010, after they sacked Fredi Gonzalez. After the 2010 season, Porter was fired by the Diamondbacks.

Washington Nationals

Bo was a finalist for the Florida Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates managerial roles following the 2010 season. The Marlins position finally went to Florida’s interim manager, Edwin Rodriguez. Porter was then hired by the Washington Nationals on November 2, 2010, as their new third base coach, replacing Pat Listach. He took himself out of consideration for the Pittsburgh managerial job when he accepted his position with the Mats prior to the Pirates finishing their interview process.

He was later involved in a benches-clearing incident during a game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., between the Nationals and the Chicago Cubs on September 6, 2012. Chicago bench coach Jamie Quirk was yelling, apparently at Porter, from inside the Cubs dugout, causing Bo to leave his position in the third-base coach’s box and approach the third-base dugout to confront him. Ultimately, both teams came out onto the field and Jamie was ejected by umpire Jerry Layne.

Houston Astros

Bo was revealed on September 27, 2012, as the new manager of the Houston Astros for the 2013 season, replacing Brad Mills. Mills had led the Astros to records of 56-106 and 55-107 in the last 2 seasons; the Astros had developed a strategy under general manager Jeff Luhnow to develop the team. Porter was selected over fellow candidates Tomy DeFrancesco, Tim Bogar, and Dave Martinez. He was also the first Astros manager to manage the team in the American League. The team won the Opening Day game over the Texas Rangers and then promptly lost 6 straight games. The victory on March 31, was the only time they would be over .500 the whole season and they completed the season by losing 15 straight games to go 51-111.

The next season, the team was over .500 for 2 days in the year starting and ending with their first 2 wins of the season. The Astros then fired Porter on September 1, 2-14 with the team at a record of 59-79, reportedly due to growing tension between Porter and Lunhow. Porter did not appreciate perceived challenges to his authority as manager, and he stated his gripes at being second-guessed by club owner Jim Crane. He was replaced on an interim basis by Tom Lawless, who managed the last 24 games of the year that led to Houston completing in 4th place in the division. This was their first non-last-place finish in 4 years with the help of fresh players including Chris Carter and Dallas Keuchel. Bo was the youngest manager in the majors before being fired. In 2015, A. J. Hinch would then assume the role of permanent manager.

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves revealed on October 3, 2014, coaching changes for the 2015 season which consisted of hiring Porter as third base coach. The role also included outfield and base-running coaching responsibilities. Following the 2016 season-ending, Ron Washington replaced Porter as the Braves’ third base coach, and Porter was named a special assistant to Braves general manager John Coppolella.

Free agent camp

The executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, Tony Clark announced on February 8, 2018, that the MLBPA would open its first spring training ca,p for unemployed MLB players since 1995. This was because a historically slow free-agent market during the 2017-2918 offseason had left more than 100 MLB free agents unsigned as MLB teams opened their spring training camps for the 2018 season. The ”free agent” camp was to give unsigned free agents who wished to attend it a simulation of a normal spring training experience and allow them to get in shape for the 2018 season while awaiting a deal offer from a team.

Tony revealed that Porter would run the free agent camp for the MLBPA. He has around one week to assemble a staff, find a baseball facility for the camp, and secure temporary housing for the players attending it. Nicknamed ”Camp Jobless” by the players, the camp was held at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, with temporary housing in nearby Sarasota. On February 11, 2016, it officially opened, with workouts starting on February 12, the same day MLB teams started their spring training workouts. His coaching staff consisted of former MLB players Chris Chambliss, Brian Jordan, Tom Gordon, Reid Nichols, Dmitri Young, and Dave Winfield. On March 9, 2018, the camp shut down.

Mid Atlantic Sports Network

The Washington Nationals and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) revealed on January 25, 2019, that Porter would replace Ray Knight in 2019 as co-anchor and analyst on the Nats Xtra pre-game and post-game shows that air on MASN prior to and after Nationals games. Porter’s first Nats Xtra broadcast took place on Opening Day on March 28, 2019.

Other ventures

He founded and has been CEO of Future All-Stars Sports Development Academy since 1998. He also founded Bo Porter Academy which opened in August 2022, and is a college preparatory private school for baseball scholar-athletes in middle school and high school. Additionally, Porter is the CEO of Bo Porter Enterprise and CORE Multimedia Group.

Bo Porter Age

Marquis Donnell ”Bo” Porter is 51 years old as of 2023 and was born on July 5, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey, United States. He celebrates his birthday on the 5th of July every year and his zodiac sign is Cancer.

Bo Porter Height

Porter stands at an approximate height of 6 feet 2 inches (Approx. 1.88 meters) tall.

Bo Porter Family

Porter was born and brought up in Newark, New Jersey by his parents. He has managed to keep his personal life away from the limelight hence he has not disclosed any information about his parents. It is also not known if Porter has any siblings.

Bo Porter Wife

Porter is married to Dr. Heather Brown, who is an orthodontist. The couple is happily married and blessed with three sons namely: Bryce Porter, Jaxon Porter, and Jace Porter. He has lived in Houston, Texas since 1996, where he currently lives with his family.

Bo Porter’s Net Worth

Porter has an estimated net worth ranging between $1 Million – $10 Million which he has earned through being a former baseball player, coach, and manager.

Bo Porter Salary

Porter earns an annual salary ranging around $83,140.