The Red Sox have brought on former reliever Andrew Bailey to serve as their new pitching coach.
Once again, the Red Sox have chosen someone with previous connections to the organization to fill an important position.
On Tuesday, the club announced that Andrew Bailey, who pitched for the Red Sox from 2012-13, will serve as Boston’s new pitching coach.
Manager Alex Cora, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, game planning coordinator Jason Varitek, and bench coach Ramón Vázquez are all vital members of the team’s brain trust who have firsthand experience playing for the Red Sox.
Bailey expressed, “I see it as just another tool in our collection of life experiences that we can rely on.” I have personal experience with blowing a save in Boston. I understand the experience of being a player who has experienced success at different times. The World Series was ours, but we landed in last place in Boston. I went through both of those.
I’ve experienced a wide range of things in Boston in a very short amount of time, but I believe it’s a fantastic market. The fanbase is incredible. The energy and aura surrounding Fenway Park and its fans are just incredible, and I absolutely love it. I’m thrilled to be back at it again. “Absolutely, I believe we can definitely learn from those experiences.”
Following the firing of Gabe Kapler, Bob Melvin stepped in as the new manager for the Giants. With this change, Bailey saw the offseason as a good opportunity to consider new possibilities.
Bailey openly admitted that his close friendship with Breslow, a former teammate from Oakland and Boston, heavily influenced his decision to choose Boston as his next destination.
Bailey expressed, “We shouldn’t pass up opportunities like this because life is too short.” Over the course of five seasons as teammates, I remember sitting in the bullpen with Craig and discussing our futures. He envisioned himself as a GM, and I offered to be a bullpen coach, pitching coach, or manager. I believe our connection is quite special.
Bailey has been the director of development for the Strike 3 Foundation, founded by Breslow in 2008, which works to raise awareness, gather support, and raise funds for childhood cancer research.
The Red Sox acquire one of the up-and-coming pitching coaches in the game with Bailey joining their team.
During those four years, San Francisco was ranked sixth in the Majors with a 3.80 ERA. They allowed the fewest home runs (525) and had the third-highest strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.16).
Today, the #RedSox have brought on Andrew Bailey to serve as the Major League club’s pitching coach.
Cora’s main message over the last two seasons has been the importance of throwing more strikes. In 2023, the Giants, under Bailey’s leadership, led the Majors with the fewest walks and were the only team to achieve four complete games.
Bailey emphasized, “It’s all about the strikes.” “Things go down in the zone. ”
Under Bailey’s guidance, starting pitchers have been able to elevate their careers to the next level.
Kevin Gausman, an experienced right-handed pitcher, achieved a career-high 2.81 ERA and placed sixth in the National League Cy Young Award voting under Bailey in 2021. He then continued his success with the Blue Jays over the last two seasons.
The latest development was the rise of Giants pitcher Logan Webb, who came in second in the NL Cy Young race in 2023. Webb led the Majors with 216 innings pitched.
Bailey said, “I believe that if you examine the pitchers I had the opportunity to work with in San Francisco, you’ll see how they were able to adapt in their later careers. They were very open-minded and some of them made the changes on their own.” Our group was awesome. I wouldn’t say I’m the best pitching coach in the world. I believe that this is the result of many intelligent individuals collaborating across different departments, including strength and conditioning, medical, pitching assistance, and throwing trainers.
So many people have an impact on players, and our goal is to maximize everyone’s strengths and bring out the best in the players.
