A potential new candidate has emerged for the vacant Mariners’ pitching coach position, one with sterling credentials ” longtime Yankees pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre.
Stottlemyre (above), who turns 64 in November, was raised in Mabton, Yakima County, resided for years in Yakima and now lives in Issaquah.
His future with the Yankees has been clouded all season, with speculation that he would retire after the season.
Stottlemyre told reporters yesterday in Anaheim, Calif., before the Yankees’ playoff game with the Angels, that he is “reasonably sure” he won’t be back next year with the Yankees. He has served as Joe Torre’s pitching coach since 1996, a span that includes four World Series titles.
But Stottlemyre, who won another World Series ring as the Mets’ pitching coach in 1986, also told reporters that “I’m not sure I’m going to retire.”
That immediately led to speculation about other job possibilities, and the Mariners seem a logical fit after the resignation last week of Bryan Price. Jobs are also open with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where Mel Stottlemyre Jr. is employed as a minor-league pitching coach, and the Florida Marlins, among other teams.
The Pittsburgh Pirates will introduce Jim Tracy as their new manager at a 2pm (EST) press conference. Tracy, who led Los Angeles to a 71-91 record in 2004, will succeed the tandem of Lloyd McClendon and Pete Mackanin, who merely won 67 between them for a team with a far lower payroll.