MLB

Yankees finally fill out coaching staff with Brad Wilkerson hire

By Greg Joyce

Published Jan. 30, 2023
Updated Jan. 30, 2023, 7:18 p.m. ET

What Brad Wilkerson lacks in professional coaching experience he makes up for in major league playing experience, which the Yankees are banking on to fill out their coaching staff for the upcoming season.

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The team on Monday announced it has hired Wilkerson as their assistant hitting coach, filling the spot that opened up when Hensley Meulens left to become the Rockies’ hitting coach earlier this offseason.

Wilkerson brings eight seasons of MLB experience as a former outfielder who played for the Expos, Nationals, Rangers, Mariners and Blue Jays from 2001-2008. The 45-year-old will team up with hitting coach Dillon Lawson and assistant hitting coach Casey Dykes, neither of whom played beyond college but have experience in data-driven backgrounds.

“I think it’s huge,” Wilkerson said of his playing experience Monday on a Zoom call. “There’s so much preparation that goes into it as far as the analytics side and everything we’re doing, preparing these hitters on the video and things like that. But to have someone in the dugout that’s been there, in their shoes and in their situations [is important]. This game is a game of adjustments, a lot of times pitch for pitch.

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“They’re going to be asking questions and they want someone that they’re going to be able to hopefully trust and build that rapport with to just allow them to free their mind and be the best version of themselves each and every game.”

Brad Wilkerson during spring training in 2019 MLB via Getty Images

A career .247 hitter with a .790 OPS and 122 home runs in 972 major league games, Wilkerson spent the past three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Jacksonville University.

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The Kentucky native said he heard from the Yankees about 10 days ago to ask if he would be interested in a job, to which he said that at this point he would likely only be interested in a big-league position. Things escalated quickly from there, with Wilkerson talking to manager Aaron Boone and Lawson before the hiring ultimately became official on Monday.

“Obviously I haven’t been in a big-league dugout in a while, but I feel very confident in my skills to get these guys to relax and be themselves and get the most out of their ability,” Wilkerson said.

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After retiring for good in 2010, Wilkerson dipped his toes into coaching in 2014 when he agreed to coach the middle school baseball team at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Fla. By the following year, he had become the varsity coach for the high school team. He also coached some travel baseball teams, helped scout for an agency, worked with hitters in the offseason and served as a volunteer coach for Team USA in 2014.

“I really figured out that I really love to be on the field and to help guys and see them reach their goals,” Wilkerson said. “It’s very gratifying to me.”

Wilkerson, who described himself as an “aggressive but patient hitter” during his playing days, said he wants to put an emphasis on preparing his hitters mentally for each at-bat.

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Brad Wilkerson with the Expos in 2004. Getty Images
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“Obviously we dig down deep in the cages and we work on mechanics, but I’m big on the mental approach and making these guys sure that their minds are clear,” Wilkerson said. “Just really focused on the mental part and getting a great pitch to hit and hitting it hard. Dillon came up with this philosophy of hit strikes hard, and it kind of resonated with me a lot because that’s really what it’s all about.”

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