Wilkerson introduced as assistant hitting coach
The Yankees introduced Brad Wilkerson as their new assistant hitting coach on Monday afternoon.
Wilkerson was an outfielder and first baseman for four different Major League Baseball teams from 2001-08 and has spent the last three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Jacksonville University in the Atlantic Sun Conference. He takes over the role that Hensley Meulens served last season. The Rockies hired Meulens in November to be their hitting coach.
Calling in via Zoom, the 45-yearold Wilkerson expressed the typical reverence for the Yankee franchise that most new hires do.
“It’s an honor to even be considered for this opportunity, now it’s starting to sink in a little bit,” he said. “I’m just honored to be a part of this organization. It speaks for itself.”
Wilkerson described his gig at Jacksonville University as the head recruiting honcho, primarily working with hitters.
With the Yankees, he envisions his primary role as “being there for the hitters”, focusing on situational hitting and swing decisions. He mentioned a desire to get the Yankees right mentally as well as physically, making sure they show up to each game with a clear but prepared mind. He will be in the dugout during games.
When Wilkerson initially got a call from the Yankees — he estimated that it was about ten days ago — he told them he would not be leaving Jacksonville for anything but a big-league position. Once he talked with Aaron Boone, hitting coach Dillon Lawson and underwent the interview process, he said things moved pretty quickly.
“The opportunity that I have in front of me to get back to the big leagues and work with these guys and have every resource in the world to try to win, it was just very intriguing to me,” Wilkerson said. “It was a no-brainer.”
During his career with the Expos/nationals, Rangers, Mariners and Blue Jays, the left-handed hitting Wilkerson put together a .247/.350/.440 slash line (.790
OPS). He hit 32 home runs in 2004, the last year the Expos were in Montreal, and in the club’s first year in Washington he whacked 42 doubles. Wilkerson was also a patient hitter and quietly one of the poster children of the on-base percentage movement in the early 2000s.
In each of his eight years in the majors, he walked in over 10% of his plate appearances. During that 2004 campaign he walked 106 times and became just the ninth Expo outfielder to post 5.0 or more Wins Above Replacement in a season before the franchise moved to D.C. Four of the other members of that list (Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Larry Walker) are in the Hall of Fame.