Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto and Mariners Manager Scott Servais announced today that the team has hired Tim Laker as the club's new Major League hitting coach.
"Tim brings a great combination of both swing mechanics and offensive approach that I believe our hitters will connect with," Servais said.
Laker has spent the last two seasons on the Arizona Diamondbacks Major League coaching staff as the assistant hitting coach. Prior to joining the Diamondbacks, he spent 10 seasons as a Minor League coach in various roles with the Indians, Mariners and White Sox organizations.
The Simi Valley, CA, native spent the 2016 season as the hitting coach for AA Akron (Cleveland). From 2011-15, he served in multiple roles with Chicago-AL: hitting coach with AAA Charlotte (2011), Minor League hitting coordinator (2012-14) and Minor League hitting instructor (2015). In 2010, Laker managed AA West Tennessee (Seattle) to a 73-66 record and an appearance in the Southern League playoffs. He began his coaching career with Cleveland, spending the 2007 season as the manager of short-season A Mahoning Valley and spending the 2008-09 seasons as the Indians Minor League catching coordinator.
Laker was a catcher for parts of 11 Major League seasons with Montreal (1992-95), Baltimore (1997), Tampa Bay (1998, 2005), Pittsburgh (1998-99) and Cleveland (2001-04, '06). He was originally selected by the Expos in the 6th round of the 1988 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Laker assumes the role of hitting coach after it was announced on October 30 that Edgar Martinez will take on a new role with the team in 2019 as the franchise's Organizational Hitting Advisor.
Here's a look at the full 2019 Seattle Mariners coaching staff:
Manager - Scott Servais (4th year as Manager, 17th year in coaching/player development in pro baseball)
Bench Coach - Manny Acta (2nd year as Bench Coach, 4th year on Seattle staff, 25th year as coach in pro baseball)
Hitting Coach - Tim Laker (1st year as Hitting Coach, 13th year as coach in pro baseball)
Pitching Coach - Paul Davis (1st year as Pitching Coach, 7th year as coach in pro baseball)
Third Base Coach - Chris Prieto (1st year as Third Base Coach, 6th year on Seattle staff, 9th year as coach in pro baseball)
First Base/Infield Coach - Perry Hill (1st year as First Base/Infield Coach, 27th year as coach in pro baseball)
Bullpen Coach - Jim Brower (1st year as Bullpen Coach, 2nd year on Seattle staff, 9th year as coach in pro baseball)
Major League Field Coordinator - Jared Sandberg (1st year as ML Field Coordinator, 12th year as coach in pro baseball)
"As we look to leverage every competitive advantage, I believe we have put together a staff that has a broad range of experiences that our players will connect with," Servais said.
In addition, Nasusel Cabrera will remain with the big league staff in his position as batting practice pitcher and Fleming Baez will return as bullpen catcher.