Veteran coach and manager Trey Hillman, who left the Marlins organization earlier this offseason, is set to join the Angels as a member of their player development staff, Andy McCullough of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). He served as the third base coach and infield coach in Miami this past season.
The 59-year-old Hillman will bring a wide breadth of experience to his latest role within the sport. Hillman spent parts of three seasons as a minor league infielder in the mid-1980s before transitioning to a scouting and minor league coaching career. Over the next three-plus decades, he’d go on to work as a bench coach, third base coach and first base coach with the Dodgers, Astros and Marlins. He’s also held front office roles with the Yankees and the Rangers, where he served as the team’s director of player development.
Major League fans might remember Hillman best for his time as Royals skipper from 2008-10 — a stretch of three lean seasons that preceded the team’s rise to prominence under successor Ned Yost. The Royals, however, are hardly the lone managerial stop on Hillman’s lengthy résumé. In addition to several years managing in the Yankees’ minor league ranks, Hillman has managed — and won championships — in both Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization. Hillman managed the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan from 2003-07 and won a Japan Series title in 2006. He also skippered the KBO’s SK Wyverns (now the SSG Landers) from 2017-18, capturing a Korean Series title in the second of those two campaigns.
That stint with the Wyverns made Hillman the only person to ever manage in each of Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization. The Halos will be the ninth organization for which he’s worked in a career that is approaching four decades in professional baseball.
Hey Trey, develop some pitchers. Thanks.
Nukeg-Yawn
Welcome aboard. Definitely seems like the franchise is more focused on development than in years past.
I hope they’re more focused on player development but I thought the same thing with Dipoto and Eppler based on what they said when they were hired. I’m not sure how his hiring as a “member” of their player development staff shows they’re more focused on it since I assume their prior FO had such members.
It seems Perry has actually hired people.
The Angels are one of the few teams that don’t list front office personnel on their site. But it seems they have added staff under Perry.
With Shohei Ohtani emerging as the co-“face of the franchise” with Mike Trout, it would be GREAT to see the Angels become competitive in the post season again. Hopefully, that happens soon, or at least before Trout starts his career decline. Just my opinion, for what it’s worth….
Always a good idea to get a HoF’er on the player development staff. Solid move.
Let’s hope Hillman gets more than one-year, free agent pitching reclamation signees to develop.
Hillman was an infielder, so I doubt he will have a direct impact on development of pitchers aside from supervisory oversight. Pitching development is pretty highly specialized to the point where a position player outside of a catcher won’t do too much.
You’re right. My comment is more of a jab towards Moreno who seemingly is happy with the Angels perpetually treading water.
Moreno prides himself on being a smart business man, and he sees pitching as overpriced for the value-that’s why he always seems willing to pay for offense-he sees that as the smarter expenditure, despite never winning anything
I don’t disagree with him. It’s an entertainment business and I get. The ledger books speaks for themselves
The skipper who managed Darvish’s early years. Ohtani entered Fighters after the Hillman-Darvish years.
Trey is a personal friend of mine and a professional in the highest regard. With his experience he is an asset to any team he works with and I know the Angels will benefit from having his voice speaking into the lives of some of these kids trying to make it to the show.