Padres announce 2018 Major League Coaching Staff
PADRES ANNOUNCE 2018 MAJOR LEAGUE COACHING STAFF
— Matt Stairs, Skip Schumaker and Josh Johnson join Major League coaching staff —
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres today announced the members of Manager Andy Green’s coaching staff for the 2018 season. Joining the staff in 2018 will be Matt Stairs as hitting coach, Skip Schumaker as first base coach, and Josh Johnson, who will work primarily with infielders. Returning to the staff will be bench coach Mark McGwire, pitching coach Darren Balsley, third base coach Glenn Hoffman, bullpen coach Doug Bochtler, and Johnny Washington, who will move from first base coach to assistant hitting coach. Executive Vice President/General Manager A.J. Preller made the announcements.
McGwire, 54, returns for his third season as bench coach after spending the previous three seasons (2013-15) as hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Prior to his tenure in Los Angeles, he served in the same capacity for the St. Louis Cardinals for three seasons (2010-12). Originally selected by the Oakland Athletics in the first round (10th overall) of the 1984 MLB Draft, the 12-time All-Star hit .263 (1626-6187) with 252 doubles, six triples, 583 home runs, 1414 RBI and 1167 runs scored over 16 Major League seasons with the Athletics (1986-97) and Cardinals (1997-2001). His 583 career home runs currently rank 11th all-time in Major League history.
Stairs, 49, spent the 2017 season as the hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies, which was his first professional coaching position. Under Stairs’ guidance, the Phillies saw upticks in several offensive measures in 2017, including a 25-point jump in slugging percentage from 2016, a 14-point jump in on-base percentage and a 10-point jump in average. He played parts of 19 seasons in the major leagues with 12 different franchises, including the Padres in 2010. Widely known for his game-winning, pinch-hit two-run homer off Jonathan Broxton in Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS at Dodger Stadium, Stairs is MLB’s all-time leader in pinch home runs (23) and ranks second in MLB history in home runs by a Canadian-born player (265), trailing only Larry Walker (383). He was originally signed by the Montreal Expos as an amateur free agent in 1989 and batted .262 with 294 doubles, 13 triples, 265 home runs, 899 RBI, 717 walks and 770 runs in 1,895 career Major League games between the Expos (1992-93), Boston Red Sox (1995), Oakland Athletics (1996-2000), Chicago Cubs (2001), Milwaukee Brewers (2002), Pittsburgh Pirates (2003), Kansas City Royals (2004-2006), Texas Rangers (2006), Detroit Tigers (2006), Toronto Blue Jays (2007-08), Phillies (2008-09), Padres (2010) and Washington Nationals (2011). Following his playing career, Stairs was an in-studio analyst for the New England Sports Network (NESN) and co-hosted programming on MLB Network Radio on Sirius/XM. He also spent three seasons (2014-16) with CSN Philly as a color analyst for Phillies TV broadcasts. He and his wife, Lisa, have three daughters: Chandler, Nicole and Alicia.
Balsley, 53, returns for his 16th season as the Padres pitching coach in 2018. Since the beginning of his first full season in 2004, the Padres pitching staff has posted a 3.98 ERA, the seventh-best mark in baseball in that span and fifth-best among National League teams. Balsley is the longest tenured pitching coach in the National League and is tied with Chicago White Sox’ Don Cooper among all MLB pitching coaches. A native of Newport Beach, Calif., Balsley graduated from Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego and attended Palomar College.
Hoffman, 59, returns for his 13th season as the Padres third base coach, his 20th as a coach at the Major League level. The 2017 season will be his 43rd year overall in professional baseball.
Schumaker, 37, enters his third year with the Padres organization. 2018 marks his first season on the Major League coaching staff as first base coach after serving as an assistant to baseball operations and player development since he announced his retirement and joined San Diego’s front office in 2016. The former outfielder and second baseman played 11 Major League seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals (2005-12), Los Angeles Dodgers (2013) and Cincinnati Reds (2014-15). A two-time World Series Champion in 2006 and 2011 with the Cardinals, Schumaker hit a combined .278 (905-for-3252) with 169 doubles, 13 triples, 28 home runs, 284 RBI and 416 runs scored in 1,149 games. He and his wife, Lindsey, reside in Ladera Ranch, Calif., with their son, Brody and daughter, Presley.
Bochtler, 47, returns for his third season as bullpen coach after rejoining the Padres organization in 2016. He spent the previous five seasons coaching in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, serving as the pitching coach for the Single-A Kane County Cougars in 2015 after serving in the same capacity for South Bend (2014), Missoula (2013) and Yakima (2011-12). Originally signed by the Montreal Expos as a ninth-round selection in the 1989 MLB Draft, Bochtler made his Major League debut for the Padres in 1995, pitching parts of his first three Major League seasons (1995-97) for San Diego.
Washington, 33, enters his third season with the Padres organization, his second on the Major League coaching staff and first as assistant hitting coach after serving as first base coach in 2017. He originally joined the organization in 2016 and served as hitting coach for Double-A San Antonio. Prior to joining San Diego, he spent the previous eight seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the last seven in a coaching capacity. Originally signed by the Texas Rangers as a 27th-round selection in the 2003 MLB Draft out of Mount San Jacinto (CA) Junior College, Washington enjoyed a seven-year professional career as an infielder in the Texas Rangers (2003-06) and Dodgers (2008-09) organizations, in addition to three seasons of independent league baseball. He retired as a player during the 2009 season and immediately joined the coaching ranks as hitting coach for Rookie-Level Ogden. After serving three seasons (2009-11) as hitting coach with Ogden, Washington went on to coach at Camelback Ranch in 2012 and was hitting coach for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2013. In 2014 he served as hitting coach for Single-A Great Lakes and held the same position in 2015 for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Johnson, 31, enters his first season with the Padres organization on the Major League coaching staff after spending the previous two seasons coaching in the Washington Nationals organization. He spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons as manager for the Rookie-Level Gulf Coast League Nationals, guiding the GCL Nationals to the East Division title in 2017 and their best record (34-22, .607) since 2013. Originally selected by the Kansas City Royals in the third round of the 2004 MLB Draft out of Middleton (FL) High School, the switch-hitting infielder spent six seasons (2004-09) in the Royals’ system before joining the Nationals organization (2010-15). Johnson played in 1,069 minor league games over his 12-year career, hitting .252 with 144 doubles, 35 triples, 35 home runs, 384 RBI, 131 stolen bases and 528 runs scored.
(h/t San Diego Padres)
