The New York Mets recently hired former MLB player, Eric Hinske, to be their Assistant Hitting Coach, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
New York Mets add Eric Hinske to coaching staff:
As both a player and now a coach, Hinske has tons of MLB experience. He is well-known for his 12 years as a player in which he won two World Series, one in 2007 with the Boston Red Sox and the other with the 2009 New York Yankees.
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After his retirement following the 2013 MLB season, Hinske started in scouting, which lasted briefly, before getting into coaching. Hinske was not a part of a club in 2022 but joins the Mets with eight years of coaching experience from 2014-21.
Hinske has familiarity with Mets general manager Billy Eppler, as the two spent a year with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018. Eppler was also a part of the Yankees’ front office when they acquired Hinske at the trade deadline in 2009.
The Mets have had a bit of a busy offseason with some tinkering moves to their staff, leading to the need for Hinske. Glenn Sherlock, last year’s bench coach, is now in a new role, one in which he will primarily work with the Mets catchers. Mets hitting coach from last year, Eric Chavez, was promoted to bench coach under Buck Showalter. That, in turn, led to Jeremy Barnes, last season’s assistant hitting coach, taking on Chavez’s role as the hitting coach. Hinske fills in the role formerly assumed by Barnes.
Hinske has spent six of his eight years as a coach in the assistant hitting position. His other two years of experience were as a first base coach and as a hitting coach.