Jeff Banister spent the last 29 years of his life in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the Pirates bench coach for the last 5 years. Now, he is leaving Pittsburgh to come to Arlington, Texas to be the Rangers next manager. He was one of three that were left yesterday, and news broke yesterday that Tim Bogar may not be the first choice. Banister has a 1.000 batting average, because he only ever got one at bat in the major leagues.
Jeff Banister has spent a long time in major league baseball, and he has spent a long time with the Pirates. He has spent the last few years working as the bench coach under Clint Hurdle, who was once the Texas Rangers hitting coach. He is going to have a lot of work to do to bring this team back to the fore front of baseball. Jeff Banister, according to Tim Cowlishaw, is a big analytics guy, something that we all know that Ron Washington was not. Jeff Banister brings a fresh start and a lot of coaching experience to the table, but he has never managed before.
It aught to be fun to see the press conference and the fanfare around the new skipper, and it will be fun to see who he hires as his coaches. The tide has turned in Arlington, there is a new sheriff in town, and now all we have to do is wait and see what he brings to the table.