Roger Arrieta
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced their coaching staff for the 2014 season with manager Don Mattingly and nine coaches returning, Tim Wallach shifting roles to become bench coach and the addition of Lorenzo Bundy as the club’s third base coach. General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement.
2014 Dodger Coaching Staff:
Don Mattingly – Manager (fourth season)
Lorenzo Bundy – Third Base coach (first season)
Chuck Crim – Bullpen Coach (second season)
Rick Honeycutt – Pitching Coach (ninth season)
Davey Lopes – First Base Coach (fourth season)
Mark McGwire – Hitting Coach (second season)
Tim Wallach – Bench Coach (first season, fourth on staff)
Ken Howell – Assistant Pitching Coach (second season, seventh on staff)
John Valentin – Assistant Hitting Coach (second season)
Manny Mota – Coach (35th season)
Steve Yeager – Coach (third season)
Mattingly enters his fourth season as the Dodgers’ manager after leading the club to the National League Championship Series and a 92-70 record in 2013. Mattingly’s .536 winning percentage (260-225) in three years as the Dodger skipper ranks fifth in franchise history among managers with at least 350 games managed. A former American League MVP, nine-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner and six-time All-Star, Mattingly is the ninth manager in Los Angeles Dodger history and 27th in franchise history.
Bundy joins the Dodgers’ Major League staff after managing Triple-A Albuquerque for the last three seasons. Under Bundy, the Isotopes went 225-206 (.522) and tied a franchise record with 80 wins in 2012, when he was honored as the Pacific Coast League’s Manager of the Year. Overall, the 54-year-old has managed 12 seasons in the minors in the Expos (1990-94), Marlins (1997) and Dodger organizations (2007-08, 2010-2013) and the 2014 season will mark Bundy’s fourth time serving on a big league coaching staff after working as the Marlins’ bench coach (1998), the Rockies’ bullpen coach (1999) and the Diamondbacks’ first base coach (2009). Bundy played eight professional seasons from 1981-89 with stints in the Texas, Pittsburgh and Montreal organizations in addition to playing in the Mexican League after he was originally selected by Baltimore in the 22nd round of the 1977 draft.
Crim enters his second season as bullpen coach and his eighth in the Dodger organization after serving as an amateur scout (2007-08), Rookie-Advanced Ogden’s pitching coach (2009), Single-A Great Lakes’ pitching coach (2010) and Double-A Chattanooga’s pitching coach (2011-12). Last season, the Dodger bullpen posted a 3.49 ERA and ranked fourth in the NL with a .240 opponents’ batting average. Dodger relievers ranked fourth with 46 saves and tied for second in the NL with 30 victories. The Van Nuys native was a reliever in the big leagues for the Brewers, Angels and Cubs from 1987-94, posting a career record of 47-43 with 45 saves and a 3.83 ERA.
Honeycutt enters his ninth consecutive season as the Dodgers’ pitching coach, making him the longest tenured full-time coach on the Dodgers’ staff. Since Honeycutt became the pitching coach in 2006, his staff has led the Major Leagues in ERA (3.71), opponents’ batting average (.248) and strikeouts (9,836). Last season, Los Angeles ranked second in the Majors with a 3.25 ERA while ranking second in the National League in strikeouts (1,292) and third in opponents’ batting average (.243). Under Honeycutt’s tutelage, Clayton Kershaw (1.83) led the Majors in ERA for the third consecutive season while Zack Greinke (2.64) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (3.00) finished fourth and tied for eighth in the NL, respectively.
Lopes will enter his 27th season as a Major League coach and fourth with the Dodgers, returning as the first base coach and baserunning instructor after playing for the team from 1972-82. Widely acknowledged as one of the best baserunning coaches in baseball, Lopes was a part of the longest-tenured infield in Major League history along with Steve Garvey, Bill Russell and Ron Cey from 1973-81.
McGwire enters his second season as the Dodger hitting coach. In his first campaign with the club, the Dodgers hit .264 with an on-base percentage of .326, marks that both ranked third in the National League. Prior to joining Los Angeles, McGwire was the Cardinals’ hitting coach from 2010-12 and helped St. Louis lead the NL in hitting during their World Championship 2011 season. In a 16-year Major League career with the Athletics and Cardinals, McGwire hit 583 home runs (363 with Oakland), the 10th-most in baseball history.
Wallach, who played for the Dodgers from 1993-96, begins his fourth season on the Dodgers’ Major League staff and first as Don Mattingly’s bench coach after serving as the club’s third base coach from 2011-13. Wallach spent four seasons as a minor league manager, setting a franchise record for victories (80) for the Dodgers’ Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes in 2009 to earn Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year honors. Wallach was a standout player at Cal State Fullerton from 1978-79 and, in 2011, was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame. The 56-year-old was the Montreal Expos’ first-round pick (10th overall) in 1979 and went on to make five All-Star teams (1984-85, ’87-90), win three Rawlings Gold Gloves at third base (1985, ‘88, ‘90) and two Silver Sluggers (1985, ’87).
Howell is entering his second season as Assistant Pitching Coach after serving as the Dodgers’ bullpen coach from 2008-12. In his four seasons as bullpen coach, the Dodgers led the National League with both a .234 opponents’ batting average and 137 wins while ranking fourth on the circuit with 2,303 strikeouts. In his role as assistant pitching coach, Howell assists Honeycutt and Crim with their duties while also working with both the Dodger minor league affiliates and pitchers on rehab assignments. Howell pitched for seven seasons in the Major Leagues, including five with Los Angeles, and posted a 3.95 career ERA.
Valentin will enter his seventh season in the Dodger organization and second as assistant hitting coach. The 46-year-old was previously the hitting coach for Triple-A Albuquerque (2011-12) and Double-A Chattanooga (2010) and the manager for Double-A Chattanooga (2009) and Single-A Inland Empire (2008). Valentin is a veteran of 11 Major League seasons, primarily with the Boston Red Sox, winning the Silver Slugger Award at shortstop in 1995. The New York native finished his career with a .279 career batting average in 1,105 big league contests.
Mota will enter his 35th season as a coach with the Dodgers and 45th year overall in the organization. He donned a Dodger uniform as a player in parts of 13 seasons from 1969-80 and 1982 and finished his career as the all-time leading pinch-hitter in Major League history. Mota will assist the club in Spring Training and throughout the year.
Yeager enters his third season as a catching instructor with the Dodgers and will work with the club’s Major League backstops in both Spring Training and throughout the season at Dodger Stadium. Yeager will also periodically visit the Dodgers’ minor league partners and work with their catchers. He played 15 seasons in the big leagues (14 with Los Angeles) and was the 1981 World Series Tri-MVP for the Dodgers along with Ron Cey and Pedro Guerrero. Known as a stellar defensive catcher, Yeager led the NL in caught-stealing percentage in both 1978 and 1982.
