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2 Boston Red Sox World Champions join Washington Nationals’ player development staff

By Noah Yingling

Boston Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller makes the throw to first against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachuesetts on July 23, 2004. The Red Sox lost 8-7. (Photo by J Rogash/Getty Images)
Boston Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller makes the throw to first against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachuesetts on July 23, 2004. The Red Sox lost 8-7. (Photo by J Rogash/Getty Images) /
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According to Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post, two former World Champions from the Boston Red Sox will be joining the player development staff for the Washington Nationals.

Bill Mueller, who was an integral piece on the 2004 World Series Champion team and Coco Crisp, who was on the 2007 World Series Champion team, will be joining the Washington Nationals as a quality control coordinator and outfield/baserunning coordinator.

Former Boston Red Sox World Champions Bill Mueller and Coco Crisp are joining the Washington Nationals

Former Boston Red Sox World Series Champion Bill Mueller has some prior coaching experience in the major leagues, but Coco Crisp has little. However, both will be joining the Washington Nationals in their player development department.

Mueller, 50, was the everyday third baseman for the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and he was one of their best players in the 2004 World Series, hitting .429 in 18 plate appearances.

He retired after the 2006 season but, within a year, he became the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the last team he played on. He was hired in June after Hall of Famer Eddie Murray was fired as hitting coach. Mueller was in a special assistant role in the Dodgers front office prior to being hired as hitting coach and, after the season, he returned to that role through the 2012 season when he became a full-time scout for the Dodgers. He left after 2013 when he was the hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs under Rick Renteria, in his lone season on the North Side.

Mueller jumped over to the St. Louis Cardinals as their assistant hitting coach in 2015. He moved to become their first base coach in 2016 and 2017 before they moved him back to assistant hitting coach for 2018. He, hitting coach John Mabry, and manager Mike Matheny were fired in mid-July 2018.

Coco Crisp, 42, was the everyday center fielder for the Boston Red Sox in 2007 when they won the World Series and, while he doesn’t have as much experience as Mueller does, he does have some coaching experience. In 2021, he managed the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (formerly the Short-Season A affiliate for the Cleveland Guardians) who are in the MLB Draft League.

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With the pandemic, the Nationals scaled back their player development staff and now, they are building it back up as Mueller’s new role was a role that was eliminated for the 2021 season so there will likely be more, similar hires by the Nats in the near future.

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