Introducing Mariners First Base Coach Perry Hill

 This season the Seattle Mariners had to replace third base coach and former assistant hitting coach Scott Brosius. Instead of bringing in a new third base coach they decided to move first base coach Chris Prieto over to third and bring aboard one of the best first base coaches in the major leagues in Perry Hill.

Besides coaching first base, Perry Hill is the Mariners infield coach as well. He has been coaching for 33 years with 24 years in the major leagues. Prior to coaching, he played shortstop in the Gulf States League in 1976 and then five years in the Mexico Sonora League. He went into coaching after that.

Hill has had three different teams in the major leagues lead in fielding percentage with the latest one being the Miami Marlins in 2017. One of his players on the teams was Dee Gordon. I am sure Gordon is one of the reasons that Hill is now with the Mariners.

The Mariners infield defense has gotten off to a rough start this year; however, I am sure we will see good results with Hill at the helm. Outside of Gordon the rest of the infield does need help.

If Dan Vogelbach can turn out to be a decent first baseman, though he likely will spend most of his time at designated hitter, we will see Hill’s hard work. Also, he has been getting Ryon Healy reacquainted at third base while Kyle Seager is out. The Mariners have Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce playing first base each with little experience as well. How long that will happen is anyone’s guess since we expect one or both to be traded by the deadline at the end of July.

So far Tim Beckham has been good at the plate but his erratic throwing hasn’t helped at shortstop. We hope that Hill can get him to cut down on the throws as well.

At least we have someone who has the experience in coaching the infield well as at first base. It will be nice if Perry Hill can stick around for a few years to help the Mariners be a contender.