Gene Lamont named Detroit Tigers’ bench coach – MLB News
As soon as the post season ended, the Detroit Tigers made announcements that they will make adjustments to their coaching staff for the next season. General Manager Dave Dombrowski announced those changes on Tuesday.
According to mlive.com, Tigers have moved their third base coach Gene Lamont to bench coaching position. First base coach Tom Brookens has been named as the team’s new third base coach, replacing Lamont. Rafael Belliard will be coaching first base, the source
further claimed.
Like many third coaches, Lamont has faced a lot of criticism over the last few years. The latest incident that led to criticism from the fans was recorded in Game 2 of the World Series against the San Francisco Giants when the third base coach waved home
Prince Fielder on a double to left field by Delmon Young.
Fielder could not make his ground and the Tigers went on to lose the game 2-0. In an interview with a leading sports website, Tigers’ Manager Jim Leyland stated that the moves are not performance based as the Tigers try to get the maximum out of their internal
coaching staff.
"I have the utmost respect for Gene's opinion," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said in an. "This will be another mind for me to bounce something off of. Gene is as good as any third-base coach in the American league. Terrific judgment. Terrific. But it might
be time for him to come over to the bench with me and put Brookie out there."
"I think Gene Lamont was as good as any third-base coach in the American League, without question," he further added. "If you're referring to the Prince Fielder thing, Gene Lamont looked up and said he made an aggressive mistake.”
Leyland believes Lamont is one of the best third base coaches in the American League. He added that Tigers loss to the Giants in Game 2 of the World Series was a result of an aggressive mistake made by Lamont.
While Lamont made a couple of mistakes in the past season, he made some really good calls as well, helping the Tigers steal runs on several occasions.
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