Andy Van Slyke Won't Return Next Season
by Ian Casselberry on Oct 9, 2009 7:35 PM EDT
in Detroit Tigers News
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One member of the Detroit Tigers' coaching staff will not be back next season, but it's not the guy many expected (or hoped) would be gone.
First base coach Andy Van Slyke will not be among the five coaches of Jim Leyland's staff to return in 2010. It was not revealed by the Tigers, however, whether or not Van Slyke was dismissed or chose to leave. When asked to clarify that distinction by Jason Beck, Van Slyke said it was "irrelevant."
Van Slyke was an original member of Leyland's staff when he was hired by the Tigers in the fall of 2005. In addition to his game duties of coaching at first base, Van Slyke was also in charge of outfielders and baserunning.
Neither area was really a strength for the Tigers this past season. Even Curtis Granderson seemed to struggle at times in centerfield, especially when going back on fly balls (and UZR didn't look too favorably on the Tigers' outfield defense). And Detroit made numerous mistakes on the basepaths throughout the year, with Granderson, Miguel Cabrera, and Josh Anderson among those making costly errors in judgment. But there's no indication as to how much of a factor that played in this decision.
The other five coaches on Leyland's staff have been invited back for next season. For those hoping that Lloyd McClendon won't be the hitting coach, it's possible that some of the roles could change among the staff. Both Beck and Tom Gage reported, however, that the team will more likely seek someone to take over Van Slyke's duties. That coach will also probably come from inside the Tigers organization.
All signs seem to point toward Gene Roof, who's coached outfield and baserunning in the minor leagues since 2001, being the replacement.
So what's next for Van Slyke? He told Gage that broadcasting was a possibility, as that's what he was doing in St. Louis before he came to the Tigers. Trying his hand at managing is another option, though Van Slyke acknowledged he'd likely have to prove himself in the minors (or "ride the buses," as he put it). Van Slyke's son, Jared, plays football at Michigan, which could give him a reason to visit the area for another couple of years.
I would love to start a blog asking where Van Slyke goes from here, but I think Pat Lackey already has that covered.
- We'll always have Van Slyke's stories about jumping subway turnstiles in New York back in 2007.
- He was always one of the most quotable ballplayers around. (This one about the U.S. solving unemployment by giving people a baseball stat to follow was one of my favorites.)
- And though I've told this story before, I'd like to include this personal note: During the '06 season, I was in the Tigers' clubhouse working on a magazine assignment. It was only my second time in a professional locker room, and I was trying to look like I knew what I was doing. But I had no idea where to go or what to do. Someone comes around the corner, sees me, smiles, and says "Hey, how ya doin' today?" on his way to the coaches' locker room. That was Andy Van Slyke. Whether he realized it or not, I totally relaxed from there, and I'll always be grateful to him for that.
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I want to have that photo blown up and framed on my wall.
by allikazoo on Oct 9, 2009 7:42 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
That is one of my favorite photos of the season
What’ll those guys do without each other?
by SabreRoseTiger on Oct 9, 2009 9:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Going to miss him, and a fun story
Back in 2007, Bonderman had to bat against the Phillies a few times. He finally hit a good single and had to leg it out to first. Bonderman, being Bonderman, was exhausted halfway to the bag. When he finally got there he was practically hyperventilating. Van Slyke leans over to Bonderman and says (paraphrasing) “Listen buddy, I like you and all but if you drop right here I’m not even dreaming of giving you mouth-to-mouth.”
Bonderman scored after two more singles got him to third, and The Sheff! batted him in.
2100 Woodward and Twitter
So let me get this straight
He wants to pursue other interests, but has no game plan yet? hhhmmmm? Sound to me like he is the one who is being hung out to dry on this one. The Tigers made a bad choice by not inviting back Van Slyke. Another secretive situation, imo.
I don't think he's going to have much of a shortage
Kurt made a good point, he’s bloody hilarious. He probably just found out in the last 72 hours so he’s got to start asking around first.
That and well, the off-season is long.
2100 Woodward and Twitter
I remember the costly baserunning mistake of Granderson (It wasn't that long ago)
And I think I know the mistake by Anderson, but I can’t remember Cabrera’s.
Personally
I think it’s offense as a whole, not just baserunning. There wasn’t any kind of consistent offense all season. I will miss seeing Andy Van Slyke at 1st base. I wish him all the best. I am sure it won’t take long for someone to pick him up. To me, this just adds insult to injury and makes me even sadder.
DD said he was safe in the media availability the other day
Note that McClendon has a job, just not necessarily the batting job.
2100 Woodward and Twitter
by john.kmiecik on Oct 9, 2009 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions
What other position is there?
I know he used to be the bullpen coach, but that’s taken right now…
by SabreRoseTiger on Oct 10, 2009 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions
they don't have a bench coach
not officially. Lloyd is just sorta a pseudo bench coach. so maybe they make him the bench coach “fulltime.”
by Kurt Mensching on Oct 10, 2009 12:17 AM EDT up reply actions
Loved Andy
was the best at half heartedly holding guys back during brawls and giving guys cold shoulders when they would make terrible outs…
I’m not even close to believing he’s moving on or forced to move on because of the poor routes our outfielders took at times and even the sometimes bad baserunning. You learn how to properly track a fly ball in middle school. As for baserunning, meh, his job is to stand there and collect batting gloves, shin guards, and bump it.
I bet it’s beyond all that probably….
Watched the twins yakees game last night...
And the Twins are upset over a missed call that could of changed the game. : ) oh reeeeeeeaaaaaallllllllyyyyyy.. Well twins it’s not like the bases were loaded with one out and one of your hitters got hit… Karma is a very nasty thing which takes it’s revenge at the worst possible time…
I'm really not surprised by this...
He taught our outfielders how to throw pretty well but when it came to making decisions on balls they couldn’t catch, our outfielders were pretty terrible. I think that’s probably the biggest factor in this decision.
My Music: Some Sorta Giant
Something Not Right
This is a bummer. Knapp is awesome but otherwise AVS is the last guy I wanted to see go. I mean maybe our baserunning wasn’t the best; but how would YOU like to coach baserunning out of Cabrera, Ordonez, Huff, etc?
At first I assumed AVS was moving on to greener pastures. Obviously that’s not the case. I never would have thought of this on my own, but someone a bit more worldly than I am said, “oh, looks like Andy was hitting the bars with Cabrera.” I mean, that IS ridiculous, right? That doesn’t seem possible to me (even looking at that photo).
Hopefully we replace him with Lloyd and get a real hitting coach (although this sort of coaching counts more in the minor league system I realize. Still…).
I missed that others were engaging in the same wild speculation.
I would be surprised if he and Miguel were actually out together a lot, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he was another person showing up very beleaguered to some games.
Disclaimer: I'm speculating completely
But maybe this was a culture issue. I remember at least one game where Andy was a very late scratch due to a vaguely described “illness.” Perhaps the club is feeling extra sensitive about lifestyle choices in light of the Cabrera issue.
But like I said, I have no idea. He has a reputation as a crazy personality, but I don’t know if that includes partying or not.
I hope he catches on somewhere. I always liked the guy.
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