The Boston Red Sox today named Tim Hyers hitting coach and Andy Barkett assisting hitting coach on the club's major league coaching staff.
President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski and Manager Alex Cora made the announcement.
Hyers, 46, spent the last two seasons as the Los Angeles Dodgers' assistant hitting coach, also serving as director of minor league hitting in 2017. In those two years, Los Angeles won a pair of National League West Division titles, going 104-58 and advancing to the World Series in 2017. Along with Hitting Coach Turner Ward, Hyers helped the Dodgers set franchise records in several offensive categories this past season, including home runs (221), doubles (312), and extra-base hits (553). In addition, the club's .437 slugging percentage in 2017 was its highest since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1958.
Prior to joining the Dodgers' staff, Hyers worked in the Red Sox organization for seven years, first as an area scout for Georgia (2009-12) and then as a minor league hitting coordinator (2013-15). In 2014, he joined the major league staff in June and spent the remainder of the season with the big league club while Hitting Coach Greg Colbrunn recovered from an injury. Hyers made his coaching debut in 2002 as the hitting coach for Single-A West Michigan in the Detroit Tigers organization.
Selected by Toronto in the second round of the 1990 June Draft, Hyers appeared in 133 major league games with the San Diego Padres (1994-95), Tigers (1996), and Florida Marlins (1999).
Hyers and his wife, Kristin, reside in Loganville, GA. They have three children: Zach, Ashley, and Joseph.
Barkett, 43, has 12 years of professional coaching experience (2006-17) at the minor league level, having posted a 610-569 (.517) record in nine seasons as a manager. He spent the past two years in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, most recently leading Triple-A Indianapolis to the best record in the International League West Division (79-63) in 2017. He joined the Pirates organization in 2016 as assistant hitting coordinator, the same role he held in 2015 with the Miami Marlins.
From 2011-14, Barkett managed the Marlins' Double-A Jacksonville club, guiding the Suns to an 81-59 record and the Southern League championship in 2014. Prior to joining the Marlins, the Miami native managed in the Detroit Tigers organization for four seasons with Single-A Lakeland (2008-10) and short-season Single-A Oneonta (2007). Barkett's coaching career began in 2006 as a hitting coach for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves.
A former first baseman and outfielder, Barkett played 11 professional seasons (1995-2005), including 17 major league games for the Pirates in 2001, over which he batted .304 (14-for-46). He also hit .273 (1,075-for-3,932) with 249 doubles, 89 home runs, and 604 RBI in 1,123 career minor league games in the Texas Rangers (1995-2000), Braves (2000, 2005), Pirates (2001), Seattle Mariners (2002-03), and Tigers (2004) organizations.
Barkett resides in Oviedo, FL, with his wife, Brandy. The couple has a son, Isaiah, and two daughters, Jade and Emma.