Giants hire Yankees' James Rowson to coach their offense, not just hitting
· Yahoo Sports
LAS VEGAS - The San Francisco Giants have a new hitting coach, and his title appears to encompass more than just the hitting portion of trying to score more runs.
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James Rowson, formerly New York Yankees hitting coach, will join the Giants to replace departed hitting coach Hunter Mense, according to reports. Rowson is reportedly joining manager Tony Vitello's staff with the job title of ‘offensive coordinator.' Assistant hitting coach Oscar Bernard will remain in his role, president of baseball operations Buster Posey said on Tuesday.
Rowson, 50, had served as the Yankees' hitting coach since 2023. Over that span, the Yankees - with MVP Aaron Judge leading the way - were one of baseball's top offenses. New York's 107 wRC+ ranked fourth over that span, its 953 home runs ranked first and .322 weighted on base average ranked sixth.
The Giants were 26th in runs per game in MLB last season, scoring 4.13 runs per game, and their cumulative performance adjusted for ballparks translated to a 97 weighted runs created-plus (or wRC+), also below league average, just 24th in baseball. Their 7.4% walk rate was worst and their 22.1% strikeout rate ranked 13th.
"I think identity is a term that's thrown out there a lot - and I think identity sometimes comes from the players as they kind of figure out how they can be most productive in the box," Posey said on Tuesday. "So ideally, you want somebody that's going to be able to read the room, read the players, get the most out of them, and then help them form that identity, whatever it may be.
"I think some of the best coaches are guys that are culture builders, that have a way to rally the guys through the good and bad times."
Rowson has been a hitting coach for five clubs since 2012. He started as a minor-league hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs and served as the hitting coach for the Minnesota Twins and then Miami Marlins. He was an assistant hitting coach with the Detroit Tigers before joining the Yankees.
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