If there’s a common trait among the coaches hired by Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu — besides his friendship with them — it’s that they’ve all been hailed for the enthusiasm they bring to the ballfield.
That’s how Bruce Hines, hired today as the Mariners’ new third-base coach, was described by GM Jack Zduriencik.
“Bruce is a high-energy guy who develops great relationships with players and is very well respected,” Zduriencik said in a news release.
Hines joins pitching coach Rick Adair, bullpen coach John Wetteland, bench coach Ty Van Burkleo and first-base coach Lee Tinsley. Only a hitting coach remains to be hired, and the man mentioned most often for that job has been Jose Castro, who finished the 2008 season in that job with the M’s.
Who is Bruce Hines?
He’s a 52-year-old who spent the past three seasons as the Angels’ minor league field coordinator with responsibility over outfield, base running and bunting instruction. He was the Angels’ first-base coach in 1991.
Hines’ father, Ben, was a coach with the Mariners in 1984 and also coached at the big-league level with the Dodgers and Astros.
Bruce Hines managed seven seasons in the Angels and A’s minor league systems and helped lead Class AAA Vancouver to the postseason in 1997. He also managed Class A Salem in the Northwest League. He played three years in the Padres and A’s minor league systems and was an all-conference football and baseball player at the University of LaVerne in California.
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