NEW YORK — The New York Yankees hired Hensley Meulens as assistant hitting coach after the New York Mets across town “stole” Eric Chavez from the same position last month.
The Yankees announced the signing Monday night. Meulens played for the franchise from 1989 to 1993 at the start of a seven-year major league career, then won three World Series titles in 10 seasons as bench coach and hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants. His most recent major league job was as bench coach for the Mets in 2020.
The Yankees hired Chavez in November as one of two assistants to new hitting coach Dillon Lawson. A few weeks later, the Mets hired the 17-year-old Major League Baseball player to be their primary hitting coach. The Yankees knew Chavez could accept the promotion when they hired him.
Meulens, 54, was interviewed for the Yankees managerial job in 2017, but the club gave current manager Aaron Boone the job. His name has been mentioned in several major league managerial searches since his success with the Giants.
A seven-year veteran of the Curaçao Major Leagues, Meulens managed Team Holland in the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classics and was also part of the national team coaching staff at the 2004 Olympics.
Meulens played first base, third base and the outfield during his MLB career. Nicknamed “Bam Bam,” he finished with a .220 career batting average for him with 15 home runs and 53 RBIs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
We would like to give thanks to the author of this article for this outstanding content
Yankees: Meulens, new assistant hitting coach