Chili Davis has David Ortiz’s stamp of approval.
Ortiz is pleased with the Boston Red Sox’s reported decision to hire Davis as their new major league hitting coach, according to The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham. Apparently, Davis would have been Ortiz’s choice to replace Greg Colbrunn, who opted not to return in 2015.
“Very nice move. He knows so much,” Ortiz told Abraham on Tuesday in Kansas City. “The mentality that he has, the knowledge. He’s a good choice.”
Davis carved out a 19-year career from 1981 to 1999, hitting 350 homers and earning three All-Star selections. He spent 2011 as Triple-A Pawtucket’s hitting coach before taking a major league job with the Oakland Athletics. The Red Sox certainly are familiar with his work.
“We’re extremely excited to have Chili with us,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said Tuesday on MLB Network Radio. “When you consider the pedigree that he has, the player that he was, how successful he was, how he’s been able to transfer some of those skills — most of those skills — into a hitting coach now, his ability to connect with guys I think is one of the strong suits, as well as a long playing career that gives him a tremendous amount of reference to give his experiences to guys he’s going to be working with.”
The Red Sox finished near the bottom of the American League in several offensive categories this season, including runs (634, 11th), batting average (.244, 13th) and OPS (.684, 13th), en route to a 71-91 finish.
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