Yankees Add Former Players Meacham, Eiland to Coaching Staff
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The Yankees named former team members Dave Eiland as pitching coach and Bobby Meacham as third-base coach to complete their staff three weeks after Joe Girardi became manager.
Mike Harkey was hired to be the Yankees’ bullpen coach, while hitting coach Kevin Long and first-base coach Tony Pena kept their positions from last season, the baseball team said in a news release. Rob Thomson, previously a major-league field coordinator, will be bench coach.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Bench coach Don Mattingly and third-base coach Larry Bowa left the team for Los Angeles this month after the Dodgers hired former Yankees manager Joe Torre. The 67-year-old Torre ended his tenure with the Yankees on October 18 by rejecting a one-year contract.
Eiland, 41, will be entering his sixth season coaching in the Yankees’ organization. As the pitching coach for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season, his staff was second in the International League with 1,101 strikeouts, tied for second with 13 shutouts and fourth with a 3.64 earned run average.
He played parts of five seasons with the Yankees from 1988-91 and in 1995, starting 70 games during his 10-year Major League Baseball career. He had a 12-27 record and a 5.74 ERA.
Meacham, 47, was the third-base coach under Girardi with the Florida Marlins in 2006 and the first-base coach in San Diego last season.
As a player, he was acquired by the Yankees in 1982 and batted .236 with 58 doubles, eight home runs and 114 runs batted in over parts of six seasons with New York, playing mostly shortstop. Meacham has 27 years of experience in professional baseball.
Thomson, 44, will be entering his 19th season in the Yankees’ organization. From 1990-97, he coached and managed in the team’s minor-league system and held other minor-league executive positions until joining the major-league staff in 2004. He was a special-assignment instructor for three seasons before becoming field coordinator this year.
Harkey, 41, was the bullpen coach under Girardi with the Marlins in 2006 and spent the 2007 season as the pitching coach for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.
As a player, he appeared in 104 games over eight seasons, going 36-36 with a 4.49 ERA.
Long, 40, returns for his second year as hitting coach. Last season, the Yankees led the majors in runs, batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
