Often overlooked, the first and third base coaches on a baseball team exist without much notoriety. Personally, I only know the base coaches for the Cubs at any given time. I've always thought it would be a pretty demeaning position for an ex-player. You have to wear the whole uniform (and a weird helmet now); little league dads don't even have to do that. Ever wonder how much they make? Me, too. This FanGraphs post from 2015 says first base coaches make between $100,000-$110,000 and third base coaches make $130,000-$140,000. Would you dress up as a baseball player for $100,000?
Alright, here is a list of notable base coaches in the game right now. This was motivated by a discussion on our podcast a few months ago with our friend Andy. While attending a game at Petco Park, he noticed that Trevor Hoffman's older brother Glenn was coaching third base for the Padres. I would say he's unqualified for the position, but there aren't really any qualifications for the job. Here are some other notable base coaches.
- Ruben Amaro- Former Phillies GM is the Red Sox first base coach.
- Omar Vizquel- 11-time Gold Glove winner is the Tigers first base coach.
- Rusty Kuntz- Royals first base coach stepped down on Tuesday due to vision issues. Instrumental in 2015 World Series run.
- Rocco Baldelli- First base coach for the team he came up with, the Rays. Just 35 years old.
- Chip Hale- Managed the Diamondbacks from 2015-2016. Now the A's third base coach.
- Tony Pena- Former Royals manager (2002-2005). Third base coach for the Yankees.
- Ron Roenicke- Brewers manager (2011-2015) turned third base coach for the Dodgers and now the Angels.
- Ron Washington- How hard is it to manage the Rangers for eight seasons and then settle for the Braves third base coach job? Tell him, Wash.
- Tom Goodwin- Speedster stole 369 bases for six MLB teams. Now the first base coach for the Mets, who were not one of them.
- Mickey Morandini- Love me some Mickey content. Phillies first base coach.
- Phil Nevin- Hit 41 homers for the Padres in 2001. Now the Giants third base coach. Buster Posey is not happy about it.
- Davey Lopes- First base coach for the Nationals. Played in MLB for 16 seasons, including 10 with LA.
- Fredi Gonzalez- Managed the Marlins (2007-2010) and Braves (2011-2016). Now back with the Marlins as their third base coach.
- Perry Hill- First base coach for five different organizations, including three stints with the Marlins.
Baseball is here! And more importantly, that means the over/under game is back. It seems as though everyone is an expert this time of year. Somehow we convince ourselves that we are better at predicting baseball outcomes than everyone else. Well, AFITB is putting that to the test for the third year in a row. Think you know more about baseball than us? You probably do. But go ahead and prove it anyway.