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On Nov. 7, the New York Yankees announced their intention to hire James Rowson as their hitting coach for the 2024 season. A former draft pick, Rowson could find himself back in the organization with whom he began his coaching career.
A 47-year-old native of Mount Vernon, New York, Rowson was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the late stages of the 1994 draft. He played several seasons with the Mariners and the Yankees before kicking off his managerial career.
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"The Yankees have offered their hitting coach job to James Rowson, per @joelsherman" - Talkin' Yanks
After spending years working as a hitting coordinator for the Yankees, Rowson joined the Chicago Cubs in 2012. Later that year, he would be promoted from the team's minor league hitting coordinator to the Cubs' hitting coach.
In Nov. 2022, Rowson signed on to become the Detroit Tigers' hitting coach. It appears as though Rowson has found more of a calling in coaching than he ever did during his playing days.
Hitting was a major source of strife for the Yankees in 2023. They batted just .228 on the regular season, ranking 29th out of 30 MLB teams. The woes even led the New York Yankees to hire former player Sean Casey as their hitting coach in June, but Casey's input seemed to yield few results.
"According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the #Yankees have offered the hitting coach position to James Rowson, a native New Yorker who players have held in high regard, and who has a diverse baseball background the team could sorely use." - Ryan Garcia
Working under Yankees manager Aaron Boone, James Rowson will have the opportunity to work with some of the biggest bats in baseball.
Both Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo went though career-worst cold snaps last season. Suffice to say, Rowson will have his hands full in his new role.
James Rowson will sign on for most contentious Yankees season in years
Going from a medium-market team like Detroit to one of the biggest sports franchises in the world will be a big change for Rowson.
Moreover, the former Mariners draft pick is joining during a time of intense fan dissatisfaction and will likely become privy to that anger very quickly. Whether 2024 turns out different or the same to 2023, James Rowson will have plenty of time to be blamed or celebrated.
