Red Sox name Ruben Amaro Jr. first base coach
BOSTON, MA - The Boston Red Sox today named Ruben Amaro Jr. first base coach on the club's major league coaching staff. Amaro will also serve as the club's outfield instructor and will assist with baserunning instruction. He is under contract through the 2017 season.
President of Baseball Operations David Dombrowski and Manager John Farrell made the announcement.
Amaro, 50, joins the Red Sox with nearly 30 years of service in baseball between his career as a player and as a front office executive. The upcoming season will mark his first year coaching in baseball at any level.
Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies for parts of seven seasons from November 2008 to September of this year, and prior to that, spent 10 years as an assistant general manager with the club. During his tenure as GM, the Phillies posted the fourth-best record in the National League at 573-539 (.515), and won three division titles (2009-11) and the NL pennant in 2009.
"I am truly honored to join the Red Sox, a first-class organization with a tremendous history," Amaro said. "I was honored that Dave and John would consider me for this opportunity and add me to this dynamic coaching staff. I am poised, focused, and ready to bring anything I can in terms of experience and knowledge to this position, and I look forward to being a part of the Boston Red Sox."
As a player, Amaro spent eight seasons in the big leagues as an outfielder for the California Angels (1991), Phillies (1992-93; 1996-98), and Cleveland Indians (1994-95). He was a career .235 hitter with 16 home runs and 100 RBI in 485 games and was a member of the pennant-winning clubs in Philadelphia in 1993 and in Cleveland in 1995. Amaro, who was a teammate of Farrell with the Indians in 1994, moved into the front office with the Phillies following his retirement in 1998.
A native of Philadelphia, PA, Amaro attended Stanford University, where he earned a degree in human biology and was a member of the school's College World Series championship team in 1987. Later that year he was an 11th-round selection of the Angels in the June Draft. His father, Ruben Amaro Sr., was an infielder who spent 11 years in the majors as a player (1958; 1960-69), including six with Philadelphia. To date, they are the only father and son combination to have played for the Phillies.