TORONTO: Beyond the specifics of his position as the Toronto Blue Jays’ inaugural deputy manager, DeMarlo Hale could have a significant impact upon his return.
The 62-year-old, whose hiring was revealed by the organization on Monday, gives manager John Schneider’s coaching staff an additional respected voice with toughness, integrity, and experience. His history of building relationships with players and different areas within the company should assist address the challenges with organizational coherence that were noted as a problem last year.
Hale’s primary function will be to act as a defensive coordinator, primarily focusing on run prevention from a defensive standpoint. Like the offensive coordinator position that was added to bench coach Don Mattingly’s responsibilities last week, only with fielding duties.
Pete Walker, the pitching coach, will stay on to manage the team’s pitching staff; Hale’s efforts will be integrated with the Blue Jays’ strategy of hitting opposing batters.
Mattingly was heavily involved in Hale’s hiring, which may indicate that he is anticipated to stay with the Blue Jays after being interviewed for the managerial position with the Milwaukee Brewers. Mattingly was given the task of game-planning opposition pitchers last week.
Schneider and his new coach have a long history together dating back to Hale’s first Blue Jays season, when he was bench coach for John Gibbons from 2013 to 2018. During that time, Schneider was advancing through the ranks of the organization, having managed the club’s rookie-ball GCL squad in 2013 and the star-studded double-A New Hampshire team in 2018 that included Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette, Jordan Romano, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Now that he is back together in the major leagues, Hale is pushing a coaching staff reorganization at the Blue Jays that seems to be aimed, at least partially, at giving different aspects of game planning to dependable, seasoned baseball professionals who are skilled at sifting through and utilizing cutting-edge data.
Hale has extensive experience working with several successful teams in that regard. The most recent of these was with Cleveland, where he was Terry Francona’s bench coach for the previous three seasons and filled in as manager for the final month of 2021 due to Francona’s health concerns.
Hale joined the Blue Jays as a result of Francona’s retirement, despite the perception last week that he would stick with the Guardians, who are managed by rookie Stephen Vogt.
Prior to his first stint with the Blue Jays, Hale coached the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005, the Boston Red Sox from 2006 to 2011, and the Baltimore Orioles in 2012. Hale also spent two seasons with Atlanta before moving to Cleveland.
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