Making official what was reported over the weekend, longtime Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has joined the Red Sox as first base coach.
Going from the front office to the field is an uncommon move and doubly so in this case because Amaro has been in the Phillies’ front office--first as assistant GM under Pat Gillick and then as GM--since retiring as a player way back in 1998.
With that said, he’s still just 50 years old and it’s possible that this is the first step toward Amaro some day becoming a manager. He very quickly reached the highest level of the front office and now he’ll try to do the same in an on-field role, which is a fascinating change of direction.
In addition to serving as first base coach the Red Sox announced that Amaro will also be their outfield instructor. He played eight seasons in the majors as a part-time outfielder for the Phillies, Indians, and Angels and also spent parts of 10 seasons in the minors, where Amaro hit .300 with a .400 on-base percentage and more walks than strikeouts and lots of speed.
