The Boston Red Sox’s coaching staff is rounding into form.
New manager Alex Cora announced Wednesday that Dana LeVangie will be promoted from bullpen coach to pitching coach for the 2018 season.
LeVangie has served as the Red Sox’s bullpen coach for the past five seasons, and he was one of the few members of former manager John Farrell’s staff to be retained.
“When everybody started talking about me being manager, he was a guy that I always considered was going to be part of my staff,” Cora said, per ESPN.
LeVangie was drafted by the Red Sox in the 14th round of the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft, and he has been in Boston’s organization ever since. The 48-year-old served as interim manager Torey Lovullo’s bench coach when Farrell was undergoing treatment for cancer in 2015.
LeVangie spent six years as a catcher in the Red Sox’s minor league system before being hired as a bullpen catcher in 1997. He has worked with relievers and catchers to rave reviews over the past five years despite the fact that he’s never been a pitcher.
“This is something I didn’t envision myself doing,” LeVangie said, via ESPN, “but I think my experience throughout the game, experience dealing with the players has grown throughout my time.”
Boston’s bullpen posted a 3.15 ERA, the second-lowest in MLB, under LeVangie’s watch in 2017.
Thumbnail photo via Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports Images
