ARLINGTON, TEXAS (AP) - The AL West-leading Texas Rangers replaced hitting coach Thad Bosley only two months into his first season with the team.
Triple-A hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh was appointed Wednesday to replace Bosley, hired last winter after Clint Hurdle left to become manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Bosley previously worked as a coach with the Oakland A’s from 1999-2003, when he was on the same staff with Rangers manager Ron Washington.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said “the fit wasn’t right.
“Nothing about Thad’s credentials or work ethic or what he did. Sometimes time and place aren’t right and we thought that was the case,” Daniels said.
Texas went into Wednesday night’s game hitting .264, fourth-best in the majors. The Rangers were second with 72 home runs and sixth with 291 runs.
“In any walk of life, communcation is a big part of it,” Washington said. “You have to communicate. That’s the only way you can get your point across.”
Hurdle was in Texas only one year after Rudy Jaramillo left the Rangers after 15 seasons to take the same job with the Chicago Cubs.
“It’s always a transition,” Michael Young said. “It’s pretty difficult following two great hitting coaches like that.”
Coolbaugh has been the team’s Triple-A hitting instructor for the last three seasons and has been coaching in the organization for five seasons. He knows several of the Rangers players from their minor league days and from his interaction with them at spring training.
“We’ve worked with him in the minors,” outfielder Nelson Cruz said. “He knows our swings and what we need to do to get ready for games.”
Rangers minor league hitting coordinator Mike Boulanger took over as hitting coach at Round Rock.
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