Yankees Fire Hitting Coach Jeff Pentland After Just 1 Season
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- For the second straight offseason, the Yankees will be looking for a new hitting coach.
According to the New York Post, Jeff Pentland -- who was hired to be the Bombers' hitting coach on January 11 -- was informed by general manager Brian Cashman last week that he wouldn't be returning for the 2016 season.
Bullpen coach/catching instructor Gary Tuck will also not return, the newspaper reported.
"I am not coming back,'' Pentland told the New York Post. "When I signed, I was told it was probably a one-year deal. That was always in the back of my mind, but we didn't look too good the last month. It's the Yankees, that's the best way to describe it. I have no regrets."
Pentland replaced Kevin Long, who was the Yankees' hitting coach from 2007-14. Long is now the hitting coach of the Mets, who are two wins away from reaching their first World Series since 2000.
"I remember going to spring training, and I felt if Kevin couldn't do it, I knew it wasn't an easy job," Pentland told the newspaper.
The 69-year-old -- who previously served as a hitting coach for the Marlins, Cubs, Royals, Mariners and Dodgers -- told the New York Post that he enjoyed working with Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran, and said he had a lot of respect for Cashman.
The Yankees finished second in the American League in runs scored with 764, but the offense struggled down the stretch. New York lost to the Astros in the American League wild-card game at Yankee Stadium.
