White Sox name Scott Coolbaugh assistant hitting coach
CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox have named Scott Coolbaugh as the club’s assistant hitting coach. He will work with hitting coach Frank Menechino, who was named to the position on October 10.
Coolbaugh, 53, served as the hitting coach for Class AAA Oklahoma City in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization last season, where he worked with infielder Gavin Lux, the Baseball America 2019 Minor League Player of the Year. Lux hit .392 (78-199) with 18 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs, 39 RBI, 33 walks, a .478 on-base percentage and a 1.197 OPS in 49 games with Oklahoma City, which ranked third in the Pacific Coast League in walks with 573.
A native of Binghamton, N.Y., Coolbaugh was the hitting coach for the Baltimore Orioles from 2015-18. During his four-season tenure, the club ranked among the major-league leaders in home runs (3rd, 890), total bases (8th, 9,367) and slugging percentage (9th, .423). Baltimore led baseball with 253 home runs in 2016, and seven Orioles hit 20-plus home runs in 2017. Among the players Coolbaugh coached in Baltimore were Chris Davis, J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop and Mark Trumbo.
Coolbaugh spent eight seasons in the Texas Rangers organization from 2007-14, including as the major-league hitting coach from June 2011 through the end of the 2012 season. In 2011, the Rangers led the majors in average (.283) and won the American League pennant before losing to St. Louis in seven games in the World Series. Texas led baseball in runs scored (808) and ranked second in the AL in average (.272) in 2012. During his time in the Texas organization, Coolbaugh worked with Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Michael Young.
Coolbaugh appeared in 167 career major-league games with Texas (1989-90), San Diego (1991) and St. Louis (1994), hitting .215 (93-432) with eight home runs and 41 RBI. He originally was selected by Texas in the third round of the 1987 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Texas.
Coolbaugh currently serves on the Board of Directors for Diamond Dreams (https://diamonddreams.org/about-us.html), a nonprofit organization that honors the memory of his brother, Mike, by promoting safety in the game of baseball and providing support to members of the baseball community in need. Mike Coolbaugh died while coaching first base for the Tulsa Drillers in July 2007.