Minnesota Twins Pitching Coach Search Update
Sweet Music will not be filling the empty soulless halls of Target Field. The ex-Minnesota Twins great Frank Viola has been eliminated from the race to be named the team’s pitching coach according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP.
Doogie also reports that the Twins and new manager Paul Molitor are down to two candidates to fill the void. Wolfson believes that Molitor will be adding a pitching coach that has had major league experience as a pitching coach to his staff.
Told the #MNTwins are down to two candidates for the pitching coach job. Viola has been eliminated. He was granted a phone interview.
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) November 19, 2014
I suspect Mollie will be hiring a pitching coach with MLB coaching experience. #mntwins
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) November 19, 2014
The pitching coach void comes from the departure of Rick Anderson. Anderson had been the Twins pitching coach during the entirety of Ron Gardenhire’s managerial tenure with the team. The two are tied to the hip and it is expected that if Gardenhire gets another managerial job in major league baseball, that he will bring Anderson on to that staff… You can’t say the man isn’t loyal.
A lot of names have been thrown out as potential pitching coach candidates. Most all of them were probably just spit-balling takes anyway. The names of Viola, Jack Morris and Bert Blyleven have all been mentioned as potential suitors.
Editor’s note: I’d really like the job to go to Bert, just so we wouldn’t be subject to hearing Bert in the booth. Yes, I went there.
Interesting note in another Doogie tweet: Eddie Guardado is not up for the pitching coach job, but is up for the bullpen coach job. That would be fun.