Jeff Pentland expected to be named Yankees new hitting coach
By Jake Misener
For the first time in team history, the New York Yankees will have a pair of hitting coaches. The organization is expected to announce the hiring of Jeff Pentland as the new hitting coach in the near future. Pentland, who is replacing Kevin Long, will be assisted by Alan Cockrell.
Long was fired by the Yankees roughly two months ago after the team’s offense struggled mightily in 2014, posting a team batting average of just .245 to go along with a team OPS of just .687–a number outpaced just a trio of teams in the American League. New York’s 633 runs surpassed just the Tampa Bay Rays and the Houston Astros, leaving plenty of questions for general manager Brian Cashman heading into 2015.
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Pentland has an extensive coaching background. He coached at the University of California, Riverside, from 1975 to 1982, before heading to Arizona State for nine years. In 1993, he joined the coaching staff of the Florida Marlins, serving as the club’s hitting coach for half of 1996.
He also served as the big league hitting coach with the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners from 1997 to 2008, but has not filled that role with an organization since that point in time. As a player, he spent time with Arizona State in college, eventually being named to the ASU Hall of Fame.
The Yankees struggled with injuries to major pieces in 2014, including outfielder Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira, both of whom are expected to be contributors moving forward. Beltran appeared in just 109 games, batting .233/.301/.402 for New York in the first year of a three-year, $45 million contract. Teixeira, meanwhile, appeared in just 123 contests, limping to a .216/.313/.398 mark with a mere 62 RBI.
With 2015 marking the first season in the post-Derek Jeter era, the Yankees will have to redefine themselves moving ahead. Beltran and Teixeira are both major veteran pieces and the likes of Jacoby Ellsbury, who led the team in both hits and on-base percentage last season, as well as catcher Brian McCann will be primary factors in the Yanks’ offense as well.
Without the Captain or longtime hitting coach Kevin Long, change is aplenty in the Big Apple heading into Spring Training in Tampa, Florida next month. It’s up to Jeff Pentland to dictate whether that change is for better or worse.