The Tigers announced their 2023 coaching staff today, with many of the names returning from last year or already reported. The one new bit of information from today’s announcement is that Tim Federowicz has been brought aboard as a catching coach.
Federowicz, 35, will bring plenty of experience to the role, having been a big league catcher from 2011 through 2019 and working in the minors for even longer. He got into 163 MLB games over that time, suiting up for the Dodgers, Cubs, Giants, Astros, Red and Rangers. He never hit much in the big leagues, producing a batting line of .192/.241/.328. However, he managed to stick around for many years as a backup catcher due to his reputation for working well with pitching staffs.
He announced his retirement from playing after the 2021 campaign and immediately jump-started the coaching phase of his career. He served as manager of the Tacoma Rainiers in 2022, the Triple-A affiliate of the Mariners. He’ll now quickly jump to a catching job in the majors after just a single season of managing in the minors.
Good for him, was a nice guy the short time I knew him
Lol
I doubt if Avila even knew a catching coach was a thing. lol. This shows you how detailed Mr. Harris is. He’s going to provide his players with best support staff possible. How many teams have pitching and hitting dept.’s that have a triumvirate of coaches.
Often that person serves as a bullpen coach and most bullpen coaches are former catchers. The coaching staff has no one labeled as a bullpen coach. So would not read too much into this guy being called a catching coach vs bullpen coach.
3 hitting and 3 pitching coaches is pretty unusual, though the trend is for more coaches. For several years the Tigers have had two hitting and pitching coaches. We are now up to 11 coaches but MLB rules state only one manager and up to 8 coaches in the dugout during games, which is why you generally do not see that many coaches on a team. Bullpen is also considered the dugout. So two of our coaches will have to be elsewhere during games.
Bullpen coaches as a rule answer the phone, pat the relievers on the arse, know where the best bars are around the country….and know how to keep their mouths shut. That’s been the entire job description since time immemorial.
A few exceptions…but very few.
A dedicated and intelligent catching coach on a ball club like Detroit without a decent young catcher but some with some tools can’t help but help.
I definitely like the move. One kudo for Scott Harris.
Still trying to forgive him for telling the world that Miguel Cabrera brings 2023 value as a player and for accepting a job with Chris Ilitch’s moth-eaten checkbook and moth-eaten ways.
Wrong again. Why do you always pretend to know more than you actually do? Bullpen coaches are generally assistant pitching coaches who focus on working with the pitchers. Bullpen catchers are ex catchers who warm up the pitchers, but are not coaches. Aldo was right, yet you arrogantly corrected him. Catching coaches are unique and have nothing to do with being in charge of the bullpen. It does show how much more dynamic Harris to bring in someone to help Haase and tighten Jake’s game.
Will you ever learn humility or are you just too fragile to accept your limitations?
Good observation, but I think triumvirate is a bit pretentious:)
Guess they’ll have to drop UPS as their preferred shipping partner now……….
If the Tigers needed a catching coach? Why didn’t they just hire Jim Price? He was the best backup catcher on the ’68 Tigers, just ask him.
You can’t make it up.
The art of catching.
Maybe Coach Timmy will stop the opponents’ bats from doing so much racky-tackeying.
Teach ‘em how to catch, that “yellow hammer” !! 🙂
Uh, he’s 81?
If you are looking for a link, he caught for AJ in 2018 in Houston.
SHOCKING NEWS! This guy actually played in MLB? Their pitching coach didn’t. Their new batting coach didn’t. Their manager played briefly and then went to glamor school for a proper manicure/pedicure degree. Their president is actually their GM which means they poached the G’nts front office staff without a promotion involved….an MLB no no. He also claimed lowering the fences from 8.5′ to 7′ at Comerica will help Riley Greene “rob homers”. Anybody heard from Scott Coolbaugh lately?
Very few successful managers and coaches had productive MLB careers. It seems like those best able to do it have a harder time teaching others while some follow the “do as I say, not as I do” approach.
Yeah, that’s what all the never-were coaches claim. Give me a guy who has an idea what goes on after the game, in the hotel, and knows how MLB catchers disguise their signs, and what impact a stadium with 3 decks has on young players.. Don’t fall for that jive……you don’t know MLB ball unless you played it.
If they were alive, you could have asked Sparky Anderson’s or Tommy Lasorda’s thoughts?
Retired catchers…always the smartest guys in the game of baseball. Best-looking as well…
Awww shucks, I once caught a cold and I’m retired…Do I qualify?
(I’m also very handsome, check out my picture)
Look at Hinch’s face…no lips…looks like a pigeon…a stool pigeon.
The many exceptions only prove the rule…
These teams are going to need a bigger plane
Yep, more coaches than players in Detroit.
That’s pretty amazing to go from a player to instantly a triple A manager.
Is it possible for Federowicz to be both the Catching Coach and the backup Catcher? Seems like a Tigers thing to do
Good move. Glad to see a proven manager catch on in this position.
Tim was great for the Cubs at Iowa and helped a lot of Cubs P’s over the years. C’s too. Always valued for his smarts and not a surprising hire for Harris who probably knows him quite well. I wouldn’t bet against him being a Big League Mgr. Someday.
Between Nov 2015 and Nov 2020, he was granted free agency seven times and traded once, He was also involved in a couple of other trades before free agency became his norm.
He’s like that movie character Ben Durham.