The Yankees launched Brad Wilkerson as their new assistant hitting coach on Monday afternoon.
Wilkerson was an outfielder and first baseman for 4 completely different Major League Baseball groups from 2001-08 and has spent the final three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Jacksonville University within the Atlantic Sun Conference. He takes over the position that Hensley Meulens served final season. The Rockies employed Meulens in November to be their hitting coach.
Calling in through Zoom, the 45-year-old Wilkerson expressed the everyday reverence for the Yankee franchise that almost all new hires do.
“It’s an honor to even be considered for this opportunity, now it’s starting to sink in a little bit,” he mentioned. “I’m just honored to be a part of this organization. It speaks for itself.”
Wilkerson described his gig at Jacksonville University as the top recruiting honcho, primarily working with hitters. With the Yankees, he envisions his major position as “being there for the hitters”, specializing in situational hitting and swing selections. He talked about a need to get the Yankees proper mentally in addition to bodily, ensuring they present as much as every recreation with a transparent however ready thoughts. He will likely be within the dugout throughout video games.
When Wilkerson initially obtained a name from the Yankees — he estimated that it was about ten days in the past — he advised them he wouldn’t be leaving Jacksonville for something however a big-league place. Once he talked with Aaron Boone, hitting coach Dillon Lawson and underwent the interview course of, he mentioned issues moved fairly shortly.
“The opportunity that I have in front of me to get back to the big leagues and work with these guys and have every resource in the world to try to win, it was just very intriguing to me,” Wilkerson mentioned. “It was a no-brainer.”
During his profession with the Expos/Nationals, Rangers, Mariners and Blue Jays, the left-handed hitting Wilkerson put collectively a .247/.350/.440 slash line (.790 OPS). He hit 32 dwelling runs in 2004, the final 12 months the Expos have been in Montreal, and within the membership’s first 12 months in Washington he whacked 42 doubles. Wilkerson was additionally a affected person hitter and quietly one of many poster youngsters of the on-base proportion motion within the early 2000s.
In every of his eight years within the majors, he walked in over 10% of his plate appearances. During that 2004 marketing campaign he walked 106 instances and have become simply the ninth Expo outfielder to submit 5.0 or extra Wins Above Replacement in a season earlier than the franchise moved to D.C. Four of the opposite members of that listing (Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Vladimir Guerrero and Larry Walker) are within the Hall of Fame.
Perhaps it’s no shock then that the Yankees, who led the league in stroll charge final 12 months, had their eye on Wilkerson. When discussing his hitting philosophy, he appeared like a person who would slot in properly with the Yankees’ present regime.
“I was always a guy that was a pretty patient hitter,” he started. “The number one thing is you have to get a good pitch to hit, whether it’s the first pitch or the eighth pitch of the at-bat. I’m big on the mental approach. Get a great pitch to hit and hit it hard. Dillon [Lawson] came up with the philosophy of hit strikes hard. It resonated with me a lot. That’s really what it’s all about.”
He additionally shared that in his interview course of, he highlighted a few of the knowledge he gained whereas taking part in for Frank Robinson in Montreal and Washington. The baseball icon helped a younger Wilkerson perceive and respect the simplicity of the sport.
“It’s hard, but you’ve got to make it simple,” Wilkerson defined. “The way [Robinson] talked about hitting and playing the game, that just made me feel like it was so simple and made me relax. That was huge.”
Wilkerson turns into the third hitting coach on the Yankees’ employees, becoming a member of Lawson and fellow assistant hitting coach Casey Dykes. He additionally turns into a part of the equation in an offense that led the American League in runs final 12 months and loved among the finest particular person seasons within the historical past of the game. Don’t anticipate the brand new man to do very a lot tinkering with a participant who simply clobbered 62 dwelling runs.
“First of all, I don’t think I’m going to be messing with Aaron Judge very much. They got a good plan, and what he did last year was pretty good,” Wilkerson deadpanned. “Obviously I’m going to give some input behind the scenes, but I feel like I’m very prepared for this. I haven’t been in a big-league dugout in a while, but I feel very confident in my skills to get these guys to relax, be themselves and get the most out of their abilities.”
A local of Owensboro, KY and former collegiate star on the University of Florida, Wilkerson was drafted by the Expos within the first spherical of the 1998 draft. In 2012, he turned the primary Gator inducted into the Collegiate Baseball Hall of Fame. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he additionally helped Team USA win a gold medal. He is the proud proprietor of the final dwelling run in Expos historical past, was the primary National to hit for the cycle, and in 2006 was named a Kentucky Colonel, the very best honor given out by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com