Red Sox hire Greg Colbrunn as hitting coach
On Wednesday, the Red Sox continued their offseason restructuring of the organization when they named Greg Colbrunn as the new hitting coach. He replaces Dave Magadan, who held the position for six years in Boston before being hired by the Texas Rangers in October.
This is Colbrunn’s first position in major league coaching. According to Boston.com, he spent the last six seasons with the Charleston RiverDogs, a class-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. He has one year of managing experience with the RiverDogs and spent the rest as their hitting coach.
The 43-year-old Colbrunn played in the major leagues from 1992 to 2004. He bounced from team to team, playing for seven in total. He mainly played first base throughout his career, but also dabbled with third base, outfield, and designated hitter. He has a career batting average of .289 with 98 home runs and 422 RBIs.
Colbrunn, who is a native of Fontana, Cali., was added to the coaching staff after a three week search for a replacement for Magadan. Manager John Farrell has also expressed his desire for an assistant hitting coach, as well. This comes as good news to some fans that are skeptical about this being Colbrunn’s first big league coaching job.
Two of the biggest accomplishments in Colbrunn’s career as a player came while he was playing with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2001 he was part of the Diamondbacks World Series Champion team, and on September 18, 2002 he hit for the cycle, one of the rarest feats in baseball.
