Rudy Hernandez hired as Assistant Hitting Coach

[Seth Stohs]

Rhett Bollinger had it first. The Twins will announce Rudy Hernandez as their assistant hitting coach. The Venezuela native has been a coach and manager in the Twins minor league system for 14 years. He has been a hitting coach at various levels from the rookie leagues on up. 

 

It solves, or at least addresses, the need for a coach from Latin America who speaks Spanish and has lived the culture.

[Mike Sixel]

Cool.

[Winston Smith]

Still waiting for a fresh, outside prospective.    Just for you Mike!

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

Cool - It does seem like the Twins are still hanging onto internal candidates over outside voices - - I have no doubt the Twins like this guy and he'll be familiar with a lot of the current roster. But I'm curious how many guys will be on the Twins' bench in 2015 that weren't already employed somewhere by the Twins in 2014

 

Does this hiring (combined with Glynn at 3b) seal the deal that Vavra won't be back with the ML club in any capacity? I would think those two positions (3b coach or asst hitting coach) would be the most likely for Vavra to hold. I might need to update the baseball card on my profile photo!

[Seth Stohs]

I kind of like this hiring. He wasn't a name I gave a whole lot of thought and consideration to. However, if his purpose (or one of his purposes) is to be a person that the Latin American players can do to and relate to and such, I do think it's important for it to be a man who has a familiarity, a comfort with. Hernandez has been around all of these guys for a long time, and is probably a confidant for many already. 

 

This is a position I'm comfortable being from within.

[nicksaviking]

Good for him.  I'm sure he'll do a fine job.  Still, it's getting a little frustrating that so far this club isn't hiring external candidates.

 

Pitching coach will have to be, and since Glynn is the 3B coach, not the bench coach, bench coach looks like it might be external.  Steinbach could still be a possibility I guess, but one would think he would have already been named if he was the top choice.  Could still be Mientkiewicz too.

[Ben B]

I don't have a problem with any of the coaching hires by themselves, but I'm beginning to think the only outside hire will be the pitching coach. And I wouldn't even put it past them to go internal for that and hire Cuellar as the PC. 

[Squirrel]

I don't have a problem with any of the coaching hires by themselves, but I'm beginning to think the only outside hire will be the pitching coach. And I wouldn't even put it past them to go internal for that and hire Cuellar as the PC. 

I think Cuellar may stay as BP coach, and they will go outside for a pitching coach and bench coach.  But who knows.  What's left after that?  1st base coach?

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

Cuellar might be a really good choice, too - that's the thing about all these internal hires. Individually, they all seem to be good fits for the position. I can't be too upset about them not hiring an outside candidate, because the number one goal is to get a good coach at each position.

 

The other piece is that not all internal candidates are created equal - If they made Scott Ullger Manager, Vavra bench coach, Rick Anderson stayed on as Pitching Coach, I mean, that would drive everyone on this board nuts. 

 

If the Twins replace Vavra, Ullger, Rick Anderson, and Gardenhire with guys that have not been coaching for the Twins' MLB team for 10+ years, I think that might be good enough. It's a turn over from the old culture to a newer version of it.

 

Ideally, the next few names we hear will be surprising ones.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

Rhett Bollinger had it first. The Twins will announce Rudy Hernandez as their assistant hitting coach. The Dominican Republic native has been a coach and manager in the Twins minor league system for 14 years. He has been a hitting coach at various levels from the rookie leagues on up. 

 

It solves, or at least addresses, the need for a coach from Latin America who speaks Spanish and has lived the culture.

Question - Does anyone know if Rudy would also offer insight as a fielder? Was he an infielder, an outfielder, a catcher when he played? Is hitting his only specialty?

 

Will there be another coach or two (maybe the first base coach) that will do double duty as a defensive minded instructor at the MLB level?

[DaveW]

I don't get this whole "They need to hire outside the org just to hire someone outside the org" bit.

 

The guys they have hired thus far have had little to no relationship with the big league club (Molitor had one year), this organization, while frustrating to watch at the major league level has plenty of good things going for it in the lower levels. Hernandez is a perfect choice for the reasons mentioned above, and Glynn deserved a promotion as well as someone who can provide a fresh set of eyes to the major league roster as well.

 

Pitching coach IMO is the most important hire of them all regardless and I see them going outside the org for sure on that one.

[Mike Sixel]

Well, it isn't "just to hire someone outside the org".

 

Organizational theory is very, very clear. If you never bring in outside ideas/people, your processes and ability to change stagnate, and you fall behind your competitors. This is not some random thought, nor a new thought. It is about as real as a business theory gets around an organization's ability to adapt, improve, and change.

[Winston Smith]

Seven coaches with the manager so there are 3 spots left to fill, I think. Bull pen coach, pitching coach and bench coach. My guess is that Rudy will also be 1B coach.

[Halsey Hall]

I think Steinbach will be bench coach.  1st and PC come from places elsewhere.  I'm satisfied will the hires so far. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Besides, I consider Glynn to be an outside hire. He's been everywhere but here until 3 years ago.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I kind of like this hiring. He wasn't a name I gave a whole lot of thought and consideration to. However, if his purpose (or one of his purposes) is to be a person that the Latin American players can do to and relate to and such, I do think it's important for it to be a man who has a familiarity, a comfort with. Hernandez has been around all of these guys for a long time, and is probably a confidant for many already. 

 

This is a position I'm comfortable being from within.

On the other hand, this promotion does remove one Latin American coach from the minors.  And if Gene Glynn speaks Spanish (I know he managed in Venezuela too), his promotion removes him from the minors too.  Hopefully the Twins make it a priority to fill those spots with Spanish speakers -- probably should have at least one at every level of the minors.

[Seth Stohs]

Seven coaches with the manager so there are 3 spots left to fill, I think. Bull pen coach, pitching coach and bench coach. My guess is that Rudy will also be 1B coach.

 

Seven coaches + the manager. So, there are four more hires. They'll hire someone else as 1B coach.

[Seth Stohs]

Besides, I consider Glynn to be an outside hire. He's been everywhere but here until 3 years ago.

 

I agree with this... He's got like 30 years of baseball history and work... 3 with the Twins. That's not just someone from inside the organization.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

On the other hand, this promotion does remove one Latin American coach from the minors.  And if Gene Glynn speaks Spanish (I know he managed in Venezuela too), his promotion removes him from the minors too.  Hopefully the Twins make it a priority to fill those spots with Spanish speakers -- probably should have at least one at every level of the minors.

They've already added Virgil Vazquez to the minor league staff (pitching coach in the GCL) so far, I wouldn't be surprised if they do more..

[DocBauer]

Seems like a sound move. He's a well know organization guy, but removed from the Gardenhire regime to still offer a freshness to the staff. He's also familiar with the young prospects in their way up as he's been working with them, along with Molitor, and those two obviously are familiar with one another. I had thought Ricardo Ingram might have been the hire here.

 

I also think the "hiring from outside the organization" mantra does get tiresome. You'd think every coach in the system was bred, born and raised in the Twins structure.

[Mike Sixel]

Besides, I consider Glynn to be an outside hire. He's been everywhere but here until 3 years ago.

 

That's not what I was responding to at all......he might be. that wasn't the point vodka was making at all. 

[MileHighTwinsFan]

I find people's concern about finding an external candidate somewhat arbitrary. When does an "external guy" become an internal guy?  After a year with the team, 6 months, 6 weeks?  

 

What they need is a coaching staff with a range of perspectives and experiences.  Whether that person was with the team last year is largely irrelevant if they have unique skills, capacity, experience and knowledge that adds value.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Remember, though, this is the same Twins front office that "shook up" a stagnant MLB coaching staff in recent years by bringing aboard three former Twins players (including two Minnesota natives who already made their homes here).

 

I don't disagree that fresh perspectives and experience can come from within the organization or within the state, but I'm not sure this Twins front office deserves the benefit of the doubt that they can successfully identify those individuals, at least not quite yet.  Still very interested in that pitching coach hire.

[nicksaviking]

I find people's concern about finding an external candidate somewhat arbitrary. When does an "external guy" become an internal guy?  After a year with the team, 6 months, 6 weeks?  

 

An external guy would be someone who didn't get the job due to promotion. 

[iTwins]

I like this move. It fits a few needs we've all talked about before (Latin American coach, someone who can relate to those players). I'm not going to get too worried over the whole "external voice" debate simply because I think the Twins made that bed when they hired Molitor as manager.

 

If they really wanted to shake up the staff and get a new voice in the dugout, the place to start would have been at the top. So, if Molitor now wants to fill his staff with guys he's worked with and trusts - that's fine by me. External, internal - whatever, so long as they're the guys Molitor feels will get the job done.

[Mike Sixel]

I find people's concern about finding an external candidate somewhat arbitrary. When does an "external guy" become an internal guy?  After a year with the team, 6 months, 6 weeks?  

 

What they need is a coaching staff with a range of perspectives and experiences.  Whether that person was with the team last year is largely irrelevant if they have unique skills, capacity, experience and knowledge that adds value.

 

that simply isn't true. Not if you believe decades of organizational research. For one reason, it is virtually impossible to have a different perspective on much if you've risen up from within the organization and spent much of your formative time there. that's how organizations work. That's what they do to people.

[Squirrel]

that simply isn't true. Not if you believe decades of organizational research. For one reason, it is virtually impossible to have a different perspective on much if you've risen up from within the organization and spent much of your formative time there. that's how organizations work. That's what they do to people.

Not to get this thread too derailed, but I think the 'external voice' issue works best if it begins at the top.  Sure, you can bring in coaches and whatnot from elsewhere, and they are likely to contribute new ideas to a certain extent, but, they still have to 'follow' the line that is already in place by the same FO personnel.  The change that some want I don't think will happen to satisfy until we have new leadership at the top of the organization.  Just my opinion here.

[GCTF]

What does an assistant hitting coach do? Besides get coffee for Bruno, of course. 

[Seth Stohs]

They've already added Virgil Vazquez to the minor league staff (pitching coach in the GCL) so far, I wouldn't be surprised if they do more..

 

Virgil is from California and speaks pretty much no Spanish. 

[Steven Buhr]

I've felt all along that the two spots most likely to go to "outsiders" are pitching coach and bench coach. In that regard, I see Glynn being hired as a base coach, rather than as the bench coach that, it has been alluded anyway, will be brought in to serve as some kind of, "experienced manager," that Molitor can rely on for aspects of the job that he doesn't have much direct experience with, to be an encouraging thing for those of us who would like to see some new blood in the organization.

 

I see jobs like base coaches, bullpen coach and assistant hitting coach as the sort of positions most likely to go to guys being promoted through internal ranks. I won't be surprised if 1B coach also is an internal hire.

 

I won't go around screaming and waving my arms wildly if every coaching spot comes from within current Twins organizational ranks, because I don't see it as absolutely critical to do otherwise, but I will be more than just a little disappointed because it would, imo, be an opportunity missed.