Originally published Monday, October 19, 2009 at 3:29 PM
Comments (10)
E-mail article
Print view
Share
Mariners fire third-base coach Bruce Hines
Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu brings back rest of coaching staff for 2010.
Seattle Times staff reporter
The Mariners announced Monday that third-base coach Bruce Hines will not be retained for the 2010 season.
All other coaches on manager Don Wakamatsu's staff will be brought back — bench coach Ty Van Burkleo, pitching coach Rick Adair, hitting coach Alan Cockrell, first-base coach Lee Tinsley, bullpen coach John Wetteland and performance coach Steve Hecht.
Hines' firing after just one season is a surprising development. At the end of the season, it appeared that all of Wakamatsu's coaches would be brought back, but general manager Jack Zduriencik said the club "decided to go in a different direction."
Wakamatsu, reached in Texas, used the same phrase.
"It's a long, longtime friend, and there's nothing I can say that's going to ease that," Wakamatsu said. "It's the toughest decision I had to make."
Wakamatsu said the phone conversation to inform Hines, who will be 52 in November, was especially difficult.
"It wasn't fun," the Mariners' first-year manager said. "I think he wanted to be part of where we were headed. All our conversations along the way, he was going to be part of that. It was a tough decision. I took a little while to make it, because it was not clear cut."
Wakamatsu and Zduriencik declined to get into specific reasons.
Wakamatsu said that one option being discussed is to move Tinsley to third. They will also look at outside candidates.
"We have several in mind," Wakamatsu said. "I think we're going to look at everyone out there."
Said Zduriencik, "When we're all finished, we hope we can bring in someone that has a dynamic Don and I are both happy with."
Hines previously served as the Angels' minor-league field coordinator from 2006 to 2008. His father, Ben Hines, was a Mariners coach in 1984.
Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com
UPDATE - 08:45 PM
Mark Hendrickson, Baltimore Orioles finalize $1.4 million deal | Baseball
Mariners' Cliff Lee out about 3 weeks after minor foot surgery
Milwaukee Brewers to honor commissioner Bud Selig with statue outside park | Baseball
Steve Kelley: My treatment of Bedard has been unfair
Mariners sign Erik Bedard to a one-year, $1.5 million deal
Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
Open Houses
|
Find this weekend's open house listings.
Or search by location:
|
nwautos
Associated Press Study: Fatal crashes down in Washington Last year Washington's roads were the scene of the fewest fatal crashes since 1955. According...
Post a comment
nwjobs
Post a comment
Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Five reasons to stick with a job you hate -- for now
Post a comment
- Alaska Air dropping Jones Soda beverages, going back to Coca-Cola
- Man found shot dead in pickup truck in Seattle
- Seattle is first U.S. stop for Picasso exhibit
- Husky Football Blog | Pac-10 expansion to get consideration over next year
- State Senate votes to clear way for tax increases
- Idol Confessions | "American Idol" hopeful from Seattle didn't make it to Hollywood afterall
- Belltown boulevard could be completed by early next year
- Nicole Brodeur | Chrisceda Clemmons' house wasn't the only casualty
- Teen is beaten in bus tunnel; Metro to review policies
- Brier Dudley's Blog | Google rolls its own Facebook & Twitter with Gmail "Buzz"
- Republicans may be no-shows at health-plan summit 277
- State Senate votes to clear way for tax increases 254
- Pac-10 expansion to get consideration over next year 249
- Lee undergoes foot surgery 231
- Obama: GOP and Dems together can spur job growth 212
- Fort Lewis soldier charged with abusing 4-year-old, holding her head in water 193
- Rivals names Martin one of Pac-10's best recruiters 143
- Bus-tunnel attack while guards watched prompts review of Metro security 133
- Belltown boulevard could be completed by early next year 128
- White House mocks Sarah Palin from podium 93
- Seattle is first U.S. stop for Picasso exhibit
- Belltown boulevard could be completed by early next year
- 747-8 soars smoothly on first outing
- Wine Adviser | Oregon's quality pinots join the bargain ranks
- Alaska Air dropping Jones Soda beverages, going back to Coca-Cola
- Snap out of your photo funk: How to make sense of all those piles of images
- How clean are those pre-washed salad greens?
- Answers to biggest Olympic TV questions
- Rick Steves' Europe | What's new in Rome and Venice for 2010
- Brier Dudley's Blog | Google rolls its own Facebook & Twitter with Gmail "Buzz"
