Tigers name Lloyd McLendon hitting coach, ‘Bull’ Durham his assistant

The Detroit Tigers have announced that former major league manager and former Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McLendon will again be their hitting coach for the 2017 season. McLendon was the manager for the club’s Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens, in 2016. He previously managed the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Seattle Mariners.

Detroit’s previous hitting coach, Wally Joyner, left after the 2016 season to pursue other opportunities.

McLendon previously served as the Tigers’ bullpen coach under Jim Leyland in 2006 and as hitting coach from 2007- 2013. He interviewed with the Tigers for the managerial position after Leyland’s retirement, but the job was given to Brad Ausmus. McLendon then managed the Seattle Mariners from 2014-15. He managed the Pirates from 2001-05. His playing career lasted 16 seasons, from 1980-95.

Leon “Bull” Durham has been promoted from hitting coach at Toledo to assistant hitting coach in Detroit. He has spent 16 seasons in the Tigers’ organization as a coach, all of them in Toledo. This will be his first major league assignment. He spent five years coaching in the Los Angeles Angels’ organization previously.

Durham spent 10 seasons as a player in the major leagues with the St Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. He hit .274 for his career, which included five seasons with 20 or more home runs. He has worked with every hitter in the Tigers’ organization who has passed through Toledo, including Nick Castellanos and James McCann.