Toronto Blue Jays Keep Coaching Staff Intact For 2009
Posted September 30, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Blue Jays will keep their coaching staff intact next season.
The team agreed to two-year contract extensions Tuesday with pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, bench coach Brian Butterfield, third base coach Nick Leyva, first base coach Dwayne Murphy, hitting coach Gene Tenace and bullpen coach Bruce Walton.
The announcement comes days after manager Cito Gaston signed a two-year extension. He led the Jays to a 51-37 record after returning to the team June 20.
Leyva, Murphy and Tenace were hired when Gaston replaced John Gibbons as manager, while Arnsberg, Butterfield and Walton are holdovers from Gibbons’ staff.
Levya and Tenace were on Gaston’s staff when the Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992 and 1993, while Murphy served as Toronto’s minor league roving hitting instructor before being promoted.
Arnsberg has spent four years with the Blue Jays. His staff posted a major league-best 3.49 earned-run average in 2008. Butterfield was Toronto’s third base coach for parts of five seasons before becoming bench coach in 2007.
Walton has spent seven seasons as the team’s bullpen coach and will return for his 14th season in the organization. Toronto relievers had a major league-low 2.94 ERA in 2008.
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