bd811
09-30-2002, 04:30 PM
MINNEAPOLIS -- Baserunning gaffes by White Sox players from start to finish cost Wallace Johnson and Gary Pettis their coaching jobs Sunday.
Johnson, the third-base coach, was fired just before the flight home from Minnesota. Pettis, the first-base coach, was reassigned to another job in the Sox organization.
Johnson, a longtime friend of manager Jerry Manuel's, had been the third-base coach since Manuel was hired in 1998. Lauded as "Waving Wally" in 2000 thanks to an aggressive running game, Johnson fell out of favor when that aggressiveness backfired more often than not.
Pettis, a friend of general manager Ken Williams', was a minor-league instructor whom Williams promoted in 2001 to coach first and instruct Sox outfielders and baserunners.
Minor-league outfield instructor Darryl Boston, a former Sox player, is expected to be named first-base coach. Double-A Birmingham manager Wally Backman is a leading candidate for the third-base job.
Johnson, the third-base coach, was fired just before the flight home from Minnesota. Pettis, the first-base coach, was reassigned to another job in the Sox organization.
Johnson, a longtime friend of manager Jerry Manuel's, had been the third-base coach since Manuel was hired in 1998. Lauded as "Waving Wally" in 2000 thanks to an aggressive running game, Johnson fell out of favor when that aggressiveness backfired more often than not.
Pettis, a friend of general manager Ken Williams', was a minor-league instructor whom Williams promoted in 2001 to coach first and instruct Sox outfielders and baserunners.
Minor-league outfield instructor Darryl Boston, a former Sox player, is expected to be named first-base coach. Double-A Birmingham manager Wally Backman is a leading candidate for the third-base job.