Decoding the Role: What Does a Bench Coach Do? Highlighting Recent Promotions from the Yankees and Astros to Managerial Positions

Baseball is unique in how it incorporates coaches and managers in the game. Unlike some sports, the entire staff wears the team’s number uniform and the coaches are present on the field. The chief among them is the Bench Coach. The Houston Astros and the New York Mets have just each appointed bench coaches as managers, though the latter approached the New York Yankees for help. With baseball evolving over the centuries, so has the role of a bench coach.

As the 2023 offseason suggests, MLB teams are recognizing the position more than ever. What does their experience as a bench coach mean that qualifies them to take the next step? And how does a coach help in creating a winning squad? Let’s take a look at what the position exactly entails we take a deep dive into how the sporting staff works.

Bench Coach –  the second-in-command

Baseball is as much about what happens off the field as what happens on it. The players all are part of the crew that keeps the ship running, but the captain of that vessel is the manager. The skipper’s role is to see the day-to-day functioning of the team and create strategies to improve the squad’s performance. However, managing such a vast unit is not possible for one person. Enter the coaches, aka the assistants who implement said plans. Pitching coaches help in improving pitching, the same as how hitting coaches help out the batters. But there is another, the bench coach, who deals with every facet of the organization.

To make the best plans and arrive at the most satisfactory decisions, the skipper needs to have relevant data. But since a manager cannot be present everywhere, the bench coach comes into play. They stay with the team and look at training, becoming the connecting link between the skipper and the players. Relaying the squad’s messages to the manager while also doing the same for the latter is yet another role description.

But he is just not an informer- the bench coach also gives valuable input during the decision-making process. They have a deeper understanding of how the team operates and use it to help the manager in formulating strategies. In simple words, if the manager is the head chef then the bench coach is a sous-chef. Because of their presence, the skipper can focus on his overall long-term vision for the squad.

Being second-in-command, the bench coach gets the most training in how the post of manager operates. As a result, most bench coaches gradually shift towards full-time managerial work. Additionally, if the manager is unable to stay in the field the bench coach becomes the de facto interim manager. This is how they gradually train themselves to become full-time managers, as the league has recently seen with two coaches ascending into managerial positions.

New York Yankees Bench Coach potentially headed for the New York Mets

The Amazin’ Mets didn’t have an amazing season in 2023 with a record of 75-87. As a result, they terminated the contract of skipper Buck Showalter, who had won the AL Manager of the Year award in 2022. The club first went after Craig Counsell but he ended up going to the Chicago Cubs. But their future manager lived just across the town all along. Carlos Mendoza, the bench coach of their city rivals, will now be found in blue and orange.

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Mendoza has been with the Pinstripes for 15 years. Having worked in a variety of positions, he eventually became a bench coach under manager Aaron Boone. Having given interviews to Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, and Detroit Tigers, among others, Mendoza had clearly been interested in the position for a long while. He’d be stepping into the highest salaried team in the league, a position that the owner plans to retain in their bid to win their first title since 1986.

Then there’s an AL team who looked within the organization for role changes.

Houston Astros show their belief in the team’s bench coach

Joe Espada has been with the Astros since 2018. An instrumental part in all of their successes, he helped Dusty Baker win his first and only World Series as a manager in 2022. Now after Baker’s retirement post their defeat against the Texas Rangers in the ALCS, the Astros have shown trust in their bench coach to lead the way. The reasons are quite simple – Espada has been a part of what has been the most successful time in the Stars’ history and his appointment won’t cause much disturbance in the squad.

They are not the only ones to get promoted to managerial work, though, as this has been a tradition in baseball. This year’s favorite underdog, Arizona Diamondbacks’ coach Torey Lovullo was once the bench coach of the Boston Red Sox. So with 6 teams appointing new managers in this offseason, will more teams follow suit? It’s an interesting time to be a fan of this great sport.

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