Mariners News: Scott Brosius Named Hitting Coach in Tacoma

The Seattle Mariners have added a number of quality coaches to their big league staff over the past few weeks, and on Thursday they turned their attention to their Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma. Scott Brosius has been hired to serve as the Rainiers hitting coach in 2016.

Originally a 20th round selection by the Oakland A’s in 1987, the 49-year-old hung up his spikes in 2001 to become a coach at Linfield College in Oregon. Brosius was promoted to head coach in 2007, and led the Wildcats to the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2013. He finished with a 237-81 record at his alma mater, and was named the Northwest Conference coach of the year five times.

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Brosius spent 11 seasons in the big leagues with the A’s and the New York Yankees. He broke in with the Athletics in 1991, and proceeded to spend the three years as a utility player. 1996 was Brosius’ best season in Oakland. He hit .304 with 22 home runs and 71 RBI across 114 games.

The Yankees signed Brosius to a free agent contract following the 1997 season. Strangely, he finally got an opportunity to play everyday with the Bronx Bombers. Brosius’ debut season in New York was a memorable one. He hit .300 with 19 home runs and 98 RBI through 152 games. Brosius represented the Yanks at the All-Star Game, and won the World Series MVP after hitting .471 with a pair of home runs and 6 RBI.

Brosius was handed a three-year extension by New York in 1998, and was a key contributor on the Yankee squad that won three consecutive World Series titles. Brosius defended the hot corner as well as anyone in the game, and was awarded with the Gold Glove in 1999. He is perhaps best remembered for homering off of Byung-Hyun Kim in the bottom of the 9th inning during Game 5 of the 2001 World Series.

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Brosius called it a career following the Yankees’ Game 7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series. He was just 34 years old, but Brocius decided he wanted to move back home and go into coaching. Not many people make the leap from Division III to the Pacific Coast League, but Brosius is considered one of the best college coaches in the country.

It will be something of a homecoming for the Milwaukie, OR product, as Brosius played for the Rainiers between 1990-93 when they were the A’s Triple-A affiliate. Scott went to Rex Putnam High School before embarking on his college career at Linfield.

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The Tacoma dugout will have a different feel to it in 2016. Pat Listach will be back as the Rainiers’ skipper, but the club has parted ways with hitting coach Cory Snyder and pitching coach Jaime Navarro. The Mariners have yet to hire a replacement for Navarro, but Brosius should be a great mentor to the young hitters in Tacoma.