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The Red Sox have announced that Greg Colbrunn will take over the team's hitting coach position. The position was vacated after Dave Magadan, who had held the position for six years, left for the Texas Rangers following the three-ring circus that was the 2012 Red Sox.
Colbrunn, a veteran of 13 seasons in the majors, retired after the 2004 season, and has spent most of the remaining time coaching in the New York Yankees' farm system. A first baseman by trade, Colbrunn hit .289/.338/.460 with 98 homers, winning a world series with the Diamondbacks in 2001. Magadan, for contrast, hit .288/.390/.377.
Of course, the actual ability of a hitting coach does not necessarily depend on their ability to hit in the majors.
This is not the end to Boston's hitting coach plans, however. Like a number of other teams out there, the Red Sox are interested in bringing on more than just one man for the position. It's a move which makes a lot of sense. After all, is a former designated hitter the best guy to go to for advice as a slap-hitting shortstop?
It makes sense, then, that the leading candidate to be Colbrunn's assistant is Victor Rodriguez, the team's minor league hitting coordinator who spent most of his career at the other infield positions. Hopefully, putting the two together will make things right in Boston.