Griffey, Pettitte part of USA coaching staff for '23

CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball today announced the coaching staff who will join Team USA Manager Mark DeRosa for the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). DeRosa, who will be making his professional coaching debut, will manage a staff that includes a first-ballot Hall of Famer, 139 combined years of Major League playing and coaching experience, and 10 World Series titles.

Team USA will be led by DeRosa, bench coach Jerry Manuel, pitching coach Andy Pettitte, hitting coach Ken Griffey Jr., first base coach Lou Collier, third base coach Dino Ebel, and bullpen coach Dave Righetti.

“I couldn’t be more excited to get in the fight with this group of men,” said DeRosa. “The wealth of knowledge, experience, and character that these guys will bring to our clubhouse will be vital to our success. March can’t come fast enough.”

“The wealth of baseball knowledge on this coaching staff is second to none,” said Team USA General Manager Tony Reagins. “Jerry will bring a lifetime of baseball experience to the dugout to assist Mark as his bench coach while former All-Stars Dave Righetti and Andy Pettitte will handle the pitching staff. Dino & Lou who have spent a lifetime in baseball coaching and developing players will handle the first and third base coaching duties while Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. will be an invaluable asset as our teams hitting coach. I’d like to welcome all of these guys to our team.”

“Our goal is to defend our World Baseball Classic title and the coaching staff we have assembled is an incredible first step in making that goal a reality,” said USA Baseball Executive Director and CEO Paul Seiler. “Every member of this staff is a respected figure in the game of baseball and boasts remarkable accolades from their respective playing and coaching careers. We are excited to work with these coaches as we collectively aim to lead Team USA to a second consecutive world title.”

The U.S. is looking to win its second World Baseball Classic title after capping the 2017 event with a dominant 8-0 victory over Puerto Rico in the championship game at Dodgers Stadium.

The fifth installment of the Classic will take place from March 8-21, 2023. loanDepot park in Miami will also host the semifinals and finals of the tournament from March 19-21.

Team USA will begin its title defense as part of Pool C at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, from March 11-15, facing Canada, Colombia, Mexico, and a to-be-determined qualifying team. The Pool C winner and runner-up will advance to the quarterfinals in Miami, Florida, from March 17-18, and match-up against the winner and runner-up of Pool D.

2023 World Baseball Classic Team USA Coaching Staff:

Manager: Mark DeRosa
Bench Coach: Jerry Manuel
Pitching Coach: Andy Pettitte
Hitting Coach: Ken Griffey Jr.
First Base Coach: Lou Collier
Third Base Coach: Dino Ebel
Bullpen Coach: Dave Righetti

Nine-year Major League manager Manuel will serve as the bench coach for the stars and stripes in 2023. He began his coaching career assuming roles with the Chicago White Sox, the Montréal Expos, and the Florida Marlins, where he helped Team USA’s 2017 World Baseball Classic champion manager Jim Leyland win a World Series. “The Sage” was named the manager of the White Sox in 1998 and would go on to amass 500 wins over the next six seasons. Manuel was named the 2000 AL Manager of the Year after leading Chicago to the AL Central title. In 2005, he joined long-time USA Baseball coach Willie Randolph on his coaching staff for the New York Mets before being named the interim manager in 2008 and taking over the role full-time from 2009 to 2010. Manuel finished his managerial career with a 704-684 (.507) record. He currently runs the Jerry Manuel Foundation, which educates young African American men with charter school standards while training them in the fundamentals of baseball. Manuel currently serves as a consultant for Major League Baseball.

Team USA will turn to Major League Baseball’s all-time postseason wins leader Pettitte to lead the pitching staff. Throughout his 18-year career in the Bigs, Pettitte won five World Series titles with the New York Yankees and was a three-time All-Star. He made his debut for the Yankees in 1995 and won four world championships in five years from 1996 to 2000, and earned ALCS MVP honors in 2001. Pettitte also won a World Series with the Yanks in 2009 and finished his postseason career with 19 wins, including five in World Series games. He finished his career with 256 victories and a 3.85 ERA, and his No. 46 jersey was retired by the New York Yankees on August 23, 2015. In 2019, Pettitte earned the USA Baseball Volunteer Coach of the Year award after serving as a pitching coach in the inaugural Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) League.

A member of Team USA's inaugural World Baseball Classic Team in 2006, Griffey Jr. will return to Team USA in 2023 as the team's hitting coach. It will mark his professional coaching debut after a 22-year career with the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, and the Chicago White Sox, where he was a 13-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glove Award winner, a seven-time Silver Slugger, and the 1997 AL MVP. "The Kid" ended his career boasting a lifetime .284 batting average, 2,781 hits, 1,836 RBIs, and 630 home runs–good enough for seventh all-time. Griffey Jr. is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and a member of the MLB All-Century Team and became the first player in Seattle Mariners history to have their jersey retired. He is no stranger to the World Baseball Classic, playing for the red, white, and blue in the inaugural event in 2006. Griffey Jr. led the team in eight statistical categories, including batting average (.524), at-bats (21), hits (11), doubles (2), home runs (3), RBIs (10), on-base percentage (.583), and OPS (1.631).

Collier will assume the role of first base coach for the team in 2023. He spent eight years playing in the Major Leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Montréal Expos, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies, and two years in the KBO League in South Korea. Following his playing career, he started the Lou Collier Baseball Association in Chicago, a program dedicated to developing inner city youth and spreading the love of baseball while teaching them life skills. Collier spent time as a coach for the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks and currently serves as a scout for the Kansas City Royals. His son, Cam, was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the first round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.

Current Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Ebel will hold the same position with Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He returned to the Dodgers organization in 2019 and has helped lead them to two NL West titles and the 2020 World Series title. Ebel signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1988 after winning the Division II baseball championship with Florida Southern College. He spent eight years in their farm system, where he began his coaching career as a "player-coach" for Bakersfield from 1991 to 1994 and then with San Bernadino in 1995. Ebel spent eight years as a manager in the Rookie-level, Single-A, and Double-A ranks for the Dodgers before joining the Los Angeles Angels organization in 2005 as the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees manager. The Angels elevated him to the Bigs as the bench coach in 2005, a position he would hold again from 2015 to 2017. He served as the Halos' third base coach from 2006 to 2014 and again in 2018. Ebel spent 14 seasons working with Mike Scioscia, who led Team USA to a silver medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Ebel’s son, Brady, was just named to the USA Baseball 15U National Team and will compete in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-15 Baseball World Cup in Mexico.

Rounding out the coaching staff is bullpen coach Righetti, who achieved incredible success as a player and coach in the Majors. Righetti spent 16 years pitching for the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Oakland A's, Toronto Blue Jays, and Chicago White Sox as a starting pitcher before moving to the bullpen in 1984. He began his career in The Bronx in 1981 and was named the AL Rookie of the Year. Righetti threw a no-hitter on July 4, 1983–the first by a Yankees left-hander in nearly 70 years–and led the AL with 46 saves in 1986. He finished his playing career as a two-time All-Star, held a 3.46 lifetime ERA, went 82-79, and recorded 252 saves. Righetti was named the pitching coach for the Giants in 2000 and held that position for 18 seasons. During his time in San Francisco, he helped lead the team to a 2002 NL pennant, World Series titles in 2010, 2012, and 2014, 22 All-Star Game selections by their pitchers, and coached Tim Lincecum to back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2008 and 2009.