Get to know the Dodgers' new coaching staff
The Los Angeles Dodgers made new manager Dave Roberts' coaching staff for 2016 official on Thursday, and there were be plenty of new faces in the Dodgers' dugout next season.
The only incumbent members on Roberts' staff are pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and catching instructor Steve Yeager.
So, who are the new coaches who will call Dodger Stadium home next season?
Bob Geren (bench coach)
Geren served as the bench coach of the New York Mets for the past four seasons, and held the same position with the Oakland A's from 2003-06.
The 54-year-old former major-league catcher also served as manager of the A's from 2007-11, compiling a 334-376 record before being fired during the 2011 season.
Geren, who was interviewed as a candidate for the Dodgers' managerial vacancy, has received high praise from Mets manager Terry Collins.
"Bob was a very good help for me," Collins said, per the Los Angeles Daily News. "Bob, one of the things about him, was that he offered information and I appreciated it. Didn't always go with what he had to say, but sometimes I did. He's well thought out. He's a bright guy, brought a nice counter to the bench.
" … We had running conversations throughout the game about what we think we should do, and I think sometimes it just helped to have another opinion."
Geren replaces Tim Wallach in the position, who has followed former Dodgers manager Don Mattingly to the Miami Marlins.
Turner Ward (hitting coach)
Ward served as assistant and then principal hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks for the past three years.
The 50-year-old former switch-hitting outfielder played for six different teams during his 12-year career, which ended in 2001 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Ward hit .251/.332/.388 during his career as a reserve outfielder, and was quite inconsistent from year to year, hitting below the Mendoza line one year and then batting over .300 the next.
Ward was best known during his playing career for a catch he made on a fly ball hit by Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza that took him through the outfield wall.
What Ward is best known for as a coach was also against the Dodgers – only this moment lives in infamy, not lore.
In a bench-clearing incident that quickly escalated into an all-out brawl when former Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke was hit by a pitch in a game against the D-backs on June 11, 2013 after Yasiel Puig had already been hit in the face.
Ward was bent over the railing of the visitors' dugout by Dodgers reliever J.P. Howell and was then drawn into the center of a massive circle between the two teams.
Prior to becoming the D-backs' hitting coach, Ward served as a minor-league manager.
He replaces Mark McGwire at the position, as McGwire is now the bench coach of the San Diego Padres.
George Lombard (first-base coach)
This will be Lombard's first major-league coaching job. The 40-year-old former outfielder, who last played at age 31 in 2006, was once committed to play football at the University of Georgia, but ultimately chose baseball as his desired path.
Since his playing days, the Atlanta native has served as a minor-league coach and manager, and has spent the last four years as an outfield and baserunning coordinator for the Boston Red Sox, and most recently, the Atlanta Braves.
In his brief major-league career (144 games in six seasons), Lombard stole 23 bases in 25 attempts.
His claim to fame? Becoming the first American baseball player to hit a home run in China, which he achieved in 2008 during the MLB China Series.
Chris Woodward (third-base coach)
The former major-league infielder is a native of Southern California. He played a total of 12 MLB seasons, during which he predominantly played shortstop, second base, and third base.
Woodward didn't have much of a bat (.239/.295/.365 career split), but his versatility in the field granted him an extensive major-league career.
After the 39-year-old hung up his cleats in 2012, he became a minor-league infield coordinator for the Seattle Mariners. The following season, he became the Mariners' infield coach.
Fun fact: Woodward appeared in an episode of the teen drama series Degrassi:The Next Generation in 2004.
He replaces Ron Roenicke in the position (who replaced Lorenzo Bundy mid-season in 2015).
Josh Bard (bullpen coach)
Like Woodward, the 37-year-old Bard is another young addition to the Dodgers' coaching staff.
The former switch-hitting catcher ended his 10-year career with the Dodgers after the 2012 season, but only ever played in Los Angeles' farm system.
However, he remained in the Dodgers' organization as a special assistant after the season, and impressed those within the organization enough to be hired to his new position.
Primarily a back-up catcher during his major-league career, Bard was primarily tasked with catching knuckleballer Tim Wakefield during his time with the Red Sox, which took some getting used to, as he gave up 10 passed balls in his first five games.
He replaces Chuck Crim, who held the position for three seasons.
Tim Hyers (assistant hitting coach)
Hyers' major-league career was short-lived, but his tenure in MLB front offices has proven to be a sustainable career for him.
The former left-handed first baseman's career never panned out, as he played in a total of 133 games over four seasons over the span of six years, officially retiring in 1999 with a lifetime .217/.298/.287 split.
Before he joined major-league front offices, Hyers was a P.E. teacher in Georgia. Eventually, he was hired as a scout for the Red Sox in 2009, serving the position until being hired as Boston's minor-league hitting coordinator in 2013.
This will be the 44-year-old Hyers' first major-league coaching job.
He replaces John Valentin, who served in the role for three seasons.
Juan Castro (quality assurance coach)
This will be Castro's fourth pass as a regular in the Dodgers' dugout.
The 43-year-old Mexico native was originally picked up by the Dodgers as an undrafted free agent in 1991, making his major-league debut four years later, and serving as a back-up infielder for the Blue Crew over the ensuing five years.
A decade later, Castro was back again with the Dodgers for half a season before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. However, at the beginning of the 2010 season, Castro was a member of the Dodgers again, playing eight games over the next two seasons before retiring in 2011.
His love affair with the Dodgers continued after retirement, as he became a special assistant to the general manager, focusing on talent evaluation and player development. He served as the Dodgers' minor-league infield coordinator last season.
Fun fact: Castro recorded the final out of Roy Halladay's perfect game while with the Phillies in 2010.
Castro's position is new to the Dodgers organization.
