White Sox announce changes to Major League coaching staff

November 27, 2012

CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox have named Daryl Boston as first base coach and Bobby Thigpen as bullpen coach. The team also announced Harold Baines will serve in the newly created position of assistant hitting coach.

Boston, 49, has spent the last 12 seasons as the White Sox minor-league outfield coordinator. He also served as hitting coach at Advanced Rookie Bristol in 1998, Class A Burlington in 1999 and Class A Winston-Salem in 2000.

Boston played 11 major-league seasons with the White Sox (1984-90), New York-NL (1990-92), Colorado (1993) and New York-AL (1994), batting .249 (655-2,629) with 83 homers and 278 RBI over 1,058 career games. He was selected by the White Sox in the first round (seventh overall) of the 1981 draft.

Thigpen, 49, replaces Juan Nieves, who joined the Boston Red Sox staff as pitching coach. Thigpen has spent the last four seasons as a pitching coach in the White Sox organization with Class AA Birmingham (2012) and Winston-Salem

(2009-11). He also served as manager at Bristol from 2007-08.

Left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana was named a Southern League midseason All-Star with the Barons and appeared in 25 games (22 starts) over two stints with the White Sox in 2012.

Thigpen went 31-26 with a 3.43 ERA (217 ER/568.2 IP) and 201 saves over 448 career relief appearances with the White Sox (1986-93), Philadelphia (1993) and Seattle (1994). His 57 saves in 1990 are the second-highest total in major-league history. Thigpen is Chicago’s franchise leader with 201 saves and ranks second with 424 career relief appearances.

Baines, 54, has spent the last nine seasons as a member of Chicago’s major-league coaching staff, including the last seven as first base coach. He served as bench coach from 2004-05. Baines will work with the hitters alongside hitting coach Jeff Manto.

Baines played in 22 major-league seasons with the White Sox (1980-89, ’96-97, 2000-01), Texas (1989-90), Oakland (1990-92), Baltimore (1993-95, ’97-99, ’00) and Cleveland, 1999), hitting .289 (2,866-9,908) with 384 home runs and 1,628 RBI in 2,830 games. He batted .288 (1,773-6,149) with 221 homers and 981 RBI over 1,670 games with Chicago. Baines ranks among the White Sox all-time leaders in home runs (3rd), RBI (4th), doubles (5th, 320) and hits (6th).

Don Cooper (pitching), Manto (hitting), Joe McEwing (third base), Mark Parent (bench) and Mark Salas (bullpen catcher) return to complete the White Sox coaching staff in 2013.