Per a team announcement, the Cubs have hired former big-leaguer Mark Loretta to become the team’s new bench coach.
Loretta, 47, has spent much of the last decade in the Padres front office after retiring from the game in 2009. Though he has no formal experience on a coaching staff of any kind, Loretta did manage the Israeli national team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifying round.
In his 15-year major-league career, the two-time All-Star appeared in over 1700 games for seven different franchises, slashing a respectable .295/.360/.395. Oft-lauded for his game savvy and high baseball IQ, Loretta will join a progressive staff in Chicago, filling the vacancy left by Brandon Hyde’s departure to become the new Orioles manager.
In a joint release, the club also announced that former MLB righty Bob Tewksbury will become the team’s new mental skills coordinator. Tewksbury, 58, had served in a similar capacity for the Giants and Red Sox over the last few seasons.
Grooming him to be the future manager?
So you’re saying they’re setting themselves up for another 108 years of futility?
One, he asked a question.
Two, seriously, get some new material.
The 108 years stuff is old, tired and makes you look like a child.
Amen, get some new material. He’s probably a Sox fan, one of the millions of fans that never show up go support their team.
The 108 yr stuff never gets old. Cubs suck and will always suck. They were good one year out of 108. The truth is the truth. Cubs suck and choke over 99% of the time.
Haha, don’t feed the bitter trolls. His girlfriend probably cheated on him with a Cubs fan after a fun trip to Wrigleyville. He’s not even a clever troll, pretty pathetic when you suck at being a troll.
Cubs still suck!
Cubs suck!
We will neves know if they dont win in the next 108 years..
The “go as t curse was over after they wont game 6 of the NLCS.
That tired joke means nothing since they have a nice shiny World Series trophy, 4 straight post-seasons, and made 3 straight NLCS. Just makes you look silly trying to mock something that no Cubs fan gives a crap about anymore.
I love guys who have “normal formal experience”.
Who said that?
It has been fixed.
Absolute stud in MVP Baseball 2005.
Is this some type of card game?
Sorry if I sound stupid asking this, but what does a mental skills coordinator do?
Sounds like you need one.
Hire one. You need it, obvi.
Mr_KLC…….here is a link that may help explain it somewhat….link to sportmedbc.com
Basically they help players get out of slumps and get over a bad day at the plate/start.
That probably sounds silly, but even the best hitters are an out 60 percent of the time. The sooner you can teach a player to just accept that and not let it bother him, the quicker he’s a productive major league.
Or teach them how to get exemptions or to hide amphetamine use well.
A Mental Skills Coordinator would reply, “think about it”.
The Cubs need one bad. They walk away crying and screaming F bombs every time they whiff. Even Rizzo, who has won the Clemente award, screams expletives in front of the kids in the front row if he takes a bad called strike 3. A lot of that is on Maddon being so lax on everything though.
Cubs officially have a bench mafia…..
Maddon(ini)
Loretta
iapoce
Borzello
Denorfia
Fuhhgedaboudit.
Hottvoy too
Hey! We don’t talk about dem guys capice!
Padres should of made him.bench coach and eventually greens replacement.
Green is 6 years younger than Loretta. I don’t think that door was opening unless they fired Green quite early on.
Green has maybe 2 years to prove himself. I’d give him a 50/50 chance. So yes, the Padres bench coach has a better shot than most others.
The first Padres jersey I ever got was a Mark Loretta jersey.
Did it come with a receipt, I would have returned it.
Pay no attention to the troll who commented just after you. I noticed that the only two comments they left on this page were snarky. Unfortunately and pathetically, chances are this is what they live to do each day.
Loretta was a solid all-around player and I wish I had at least a shirt jersey of his. Whenever I would watch the Padres play against the Dodgers, I was always surprised at how often he got on base or produced a key hit. He does at the plate what many of today’s players refuse to do – just make contact with the ball.. I was just looking up his stats. He became a full time player in 1997 and in the 12 seasons following, he NEVER accumulated more than 63 Ks per season during that period. That is EXTREMELY disciplined. Wear that jersey with pride.
Appreciate it. I got it at Petco Park like around 2006. I frame all the old jerseys I don’t wear anymore because there like 300 dollars. Haha.
Tewksbury hired as mental skills coach. Cards set to announce Brendan Ryan as their mental skills coach tomorrow.
I would have guessed Rick Ankiel.
Greinke will make a great mental skills coach after he retires.
Get back, Loretta…this is an interesting hire. Always seemed like a good candidate as future manager
Tewksbury was a solid MLB pitcher who got the most out of his ability.
He is the exact type you would want as, what amounts to, a morivational, shrink without a license guy.
He played on the Red Sox in 2006
Bob Tewksbury was named mental skills coach. Does that mean help them with crossword puzzles and things like that?
Growing up, he was my favorite player on the Padres. I was really happy that he was working with our front office. Best of luck, Mark Loretta. Always rooting for you