Former top five pick to coach AAA hitters

Has experience at college level; owns training facility

The Pirates have continued to fill out their coaching staff at Class AAA Indianapolis by hiring Eric Munson as hitting coach, tabbing the third overall pick in 1999 to man a key position under new major league hitting coach Andy Haines.

Although the move has not been made public, a team source confirmed it to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday.

Munson, 44, has owned and operated his own training facility, Gold Standard Athletics in Dubuque, Iowa, for the past eight years. This represents his first coaching job with a major or minor league team.

The hiring of Munson means that Jon Nunnally, who worked as Class AAA hitting coach this past season, will shift to another role in the organization.

Earlier this week, news broke that the Pirates had hired Dan Meyer to succeed Joel Hanrahan as Class AAA pitching coach, although none of the recent moves have been announced. More could trickle out, and there’s a formal rollout planned for the first week of January.

Munson, who’s not related to the famous and deceased Yankees catcher Thurman, was an AllAmerican at USC and helped the Trojans win a College World Series title in 1998.

Only Josh Hamilton and Josh Beckett preceded him his draft year, where Munson signed for $3.5 million.

The San Diego, Calif., native made his MLB debut July 18, 2000 with Detroit and wound up playing 361 games over nine seasons with the Tigers, Rays, Astros and Athletics.

Munson hit .214 with 49 home runs and 147 RBIs in 1,056 major league at-bats while playing third base, first, catcher and one game in left field. He had also spent time on the coaching staffs at USC (undergrad assistant) and the University of Dubuque ( assistant).

According to a story in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald — none of the Pirates’ recent minor league hires have been made available to local reporters because the moves have not been formally announced — Munson said the timing was right to finally try his hand coaching pro ball.

“Everything kind of lined up,” Munson told the Telegraph Herald. “Between their location and where I’m at with my family and the kids, it feels like it’s the right time. I never lost any sleep over the opportunities I’ve passed on the last few years. I never thought twice about them. But this one, I felt like I would regret it if I turned it down.”

Munson will continue to operate his training facility, a luxury afforded by Mondays being universal off- days in the minor leagues and also the new reduced travel instituted by Major League Baseball.

“One thing that was cool about the process with them was it never really felt like they were asking me tough questions,” Munson said of the interview process. “It was more like we were just talking baseball. It seemed like we were very like-minded on what we believe in and what we’re trying to do. The Pirates are progressive. They’re forward thinking. They don’t have one specific cookie-cutter approach.

“They’re trying to get the best out of each individual and understand that sometimes you have to challenge yourself as a coach and you have to be open. You want to listen to suggestions. At the end of the day, hitting isn’t a debate, it’s a conversation. In talking to the Pirates, that’s really what I felt like. I’m excited to learn.”

Munson was also highly complimentary of the Pirates’ farm system, which is considered topfive across the sport.

“They’re loaded,” Munson said. “A lot of these kids are too good to stay down in the minor leagues, so they’ll be in Pittsburgh as early as this year. It’ll be pretty sweet to work with a lot of these high-end draft picks. It’ll be exciting for me.”