Hitting coach Hyers declines offer to return
The Red Sox will have a different look on the hitting side of their coaching staff, but there will be a familiar voice leading them in 2022.
Tim Hyers, who has been the team’s hitting coach since the 2018 season, has declined the Red Sox’ offer to return next year, a source confirmed to the Herald. But the club will maintain continuity in their hitting room. According to a source, assistant hitting coach Peter Fatse, who has been with the team for the last two seasons, will become the Red Sox’ new hitting coach.
News of Hyers’ departure was first reported by the Globe.
Hyers was hired in 2017 as part of Alex Cora’s staff and it paid immediate dividends. Guided by Hyers and some different offensive philosophies, the Red Sox had the best offense in baseball in 2018, leading the league in runs per game (5.4) on their way to a dominant World Series title.
Over Hyers’ four seasons in Boston, the Red Sox led baseball in a number of different offensive categories, including runs per game, slugging percentage and OPS.
Hyers, 50, was in his second stint with Boston after working as an area scout from 2009-12 before becoming the team’s minor league hitting coordinator. He was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ assistant hitting coach in 2016 and 2017 before returning to the Red Sox.
The 34-year-old Fatse, a Massachusetts native from Hampden, joined the Red Sox’ coaching staff as an assistant hitting coach under Hyers in 2020 after spending the 2019 season with the Minnesota Twins as a minor league hitting coordinator. Fatse played college baseball at UConn, where he played one season with Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes, and was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2009 draft. He played four professional seasons.
Hyers’ departure and Fatse’s promotion is the second known Red Sox coaching change. Last Monday, the club announced that first base coach Tom Goodwin would not return. The rest of the coaching staff is expected to return, though the rest of the setup on the hitting side is still to be determined.
Remy family issues statement
Jerry Remy’s family released a statement through the Red Sox on Monday, expressing their gratitude to the team, fans and the personnel who treated him at Massachusetts General Hospital as he battled lung cancer.
Remy died Saturday night after a 13-year fight against lung cancer. He is survived by his wife, Phoebe; sons, Jared and Jordan; daughter, Jenna, and her husband, Leif von der Heyde; and two grandchildren, Dominik Guyette and Arianna Remy.
Remy, who was born in Fall River and grew up in Somerset, spent more than 40 years with the Red Sox, including seven seasons as a player and more than 33 seasons as a broadcaster on NESN, as he became a beloved and iconic figure across New England.
Here’s the full statement from Remy’s family:
“First and foremost, we want to thank the Boston Red Sox and NESN for their kindness and compassion during this devastating time, especially John and Linda Henry, Tom Werner, Sam Kennedy, and Sean McGrail. They treated us like family from the day we all first met until we lost him this weekend. We are eternally grateful.
“Jerry lived and breathed Red Sox baseball. Playing for his hometown team was a dream come true, and to have the opportunity to have a second career as the voice of the Red Sox was all that he could have asked for.
“’ Thank you’ doesn’t adequately express the gratitude we feel for the fans. Over the last 13 years, we went through this ordeal with all of you rooting for us and offering words of hope. He heard you — we all heard you — and it was the love from all of you that helped him fight this battle for more than a decade. Cancer is a horrific disease, one that is all too prevalent these days. If you must endure something so grueling, there is no greater strength to help you through than that of Red Sox Nation. Dedicated and loyal until the end.
“We also want to acknowledge and thank the incredible team of doctors, nurses, and personnel at Massachusetts General Hospital who were part of Jerry’s team since 2008. Their care was nothing short of heroic and we are grateful for both their expertise and compassion.
“To many of you he was ‘Rem’ or ‘RemDawg.’ To us he was Jerry, or Dad, or PupPup. He loved his family endlessly and the loss we are feeling is unimaginable. As we grieve for our beloved, we respectfully ask to do so privately, but want all of you to know that your prayers and kind words are seen, felt, and appreciated by the entire family.”