ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -Todd Greene was intrigued, even if he couldn’t be sure what a so-called quality assurance coach does for the Tampa Bay Rays.
The former major league catcher was hired by the AL champions on Tuesday, filling an instructional and self-scouting position added to manager Joe Maddon’s staff before last year’s breakthrough season.
Greene, who played for the Anaheim Angels while Maddon was bench coach there, replaces Tim Bogar, who left after the World Series to become the first base coach in Boston. Greene was a professional scout for San Diego in 2008.
“It’s kind of a hybrid job from the scouting thing I did with the Padres, and obviously getting back on the field was definitely appealing to me,” Greene said. “With all that said, if it wasn’t with Joe and coming to a quality organization like Tampa has become, I probably wouldn’t have left the Padres.”
A career backup, Greene hit .252 with 71 homers and 217 RBIs in 11 seasons with the Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants.
for all pregame workouts during spring training and the regular season. In addition to assisting with catching instruction, he’ll also contribute to series preparation and help coordinate spring training.
Greene will watch games from the stands, observing the Rays much the way a scout from another team might do to chart tendencies.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to get our players ready to play and go out and win games,” Greene said. “That’s kind of the same way I was being a bench player for the most part in my career.”
Although he didn’t know much about what the position entailed until he made a call to Maddon, Greene said he didn’t speak with Bogar before interviewing because he hopes to put his own stamp on the job.
“Obviously, from the people I’ve talked to, he did an outstanding job and brought some life to that position,” Greene said. “I’ve just always kind of been one to be myself and bring my own personality to it and kind of let me be me. Hopefully I can do that.”
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