GaryMrMets
10-10-2003, 02:06 AM
http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/phi/news/phi_news.jsp?ymd=20030930&content_id=552743&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi
09/30/2003 4:59 PM ET
Coaching changes announced
By Ken Mandel / MLB.com
PHILADELPIHA -- Eight years after retiring as a player, Milt Thompson is returning to the big leagues as the Phillies' first-base coach. He replaces Tony Scott -- the team's first-base coach for the past three seasons -- who has been offered a job in the minor league system.
Also joining the Major League ranks is Mick Billmeyer, the club's minor league catching coordinator since 2000. He will serve as the bullpen catcher, replacing Clemente Alvarez, who was also offered a job in the organization.
Billmeyer, 39, is a veteran of 537 minor league games. He was the Angels' bullpen/workout coordinator from 1994-99 before coming to the Phillies.
Thompson, 44, played 11 years in the Majors, five with the Phillies, and was a member of the 1993 NL Champions. He has been a minor league coach with the Phillies, serving as the organization's minor league outfield/baserunning coordinator for the past three years. He worked with players throughout the minors and at two baseball academies in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Thompson also coached with Double-A Reading from 1998-2000 before taking a year off and returning as a roving instructor in '01. He worked with young players like Jimmy Rollins and Jason Michaels and will likely continue doing that in 2004.
Thompson teaches the skills that made him an integral outfielder with six teams -- including two stints with the Phillies -- and gave him a .274 average in 1,359 games. This is his first Major League coaching position.
Originally a 1979 second-round draft choice by the Braves, Thompson was dealt to the Phillies at the 1985 Winter Meetings with Steve Bedrosian for catcher Ozzie Virgil and pitcher Pete Smith. Three years later, he was sent to the Cardinals for Steve Lake and Curt Ford. Perhaps sensing the magic, Thompson returned to Philadelphia as a free agent on Dec. 9, 1992, in time for the '93 campaign.
He hit .262 in 340 at-bats in 1993, in the neighborhood of his career mark, but well off his high of .307, which he established in 1991 while with St. Louis. He hit .320 as a pinch-hitter in 1993, largely serving as the left-handed part of a platoon with Pete Incaviglia. He appeared in 129 games, the fourth-highest total in his career.
The Phillies clinched the NL East against Pittsburgh on Sept. 28, 1993, with Thompson going 2-for-3 with two runs scored in a 10-7 win. They then upset Thompson's original team -- the heavily favored Braves (104 regular-season wins).
Thompson hit .231 in the NLCS, then added a .313 average in six World Series games, with a home run and six RBIs. He drove in five runs in a 15-14 loss in Game 4 -- a franchise record for a World Series game.
"Nothing I've done in baseball can compare to the ride we had in '93," he said at this weekend's closing ceremonies for Veterans Stadium. "If you asked me about all the teams or where I played, '93 was the greatest year I've ever had. I'll never forget it."
Ken Mandel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
09/30/2003 4:59 PM ET
Coaching changes announced
By Ken Mandel / MLB.com
PHILADELPIHA -- Eight years after retiring as a player, Milt Thompson is returning to the big leagues as the Phillies' first-base coach. He replaces Tony Scott -- the team's first-base coach for the past three seasons -- who has been offered a job in the minor league system.
Also joining the Major League ranks is Mick Billmeyer, the club's minor league catching coordinator since 2000. He will serve as the bullpen catcher, replacing Clemente Alvarez, who was also offered a job in the organization.
Billmeyer, 39, is a veteran of 537 minor league games. He was the Angels' bullpen/workout coordinator from 1994-99 before coming to the Phillies.
Thompson, 44, played 11 years in the Majors, five with the Phillies, and was a member of the 1993 NL Champions. He has been a minor league coach with the Phillies, serving as the organization's minor league outfield/baserunning coordinator for the past three years. He worked with players throughout the minors and at two baseball academies in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Thompson also coached with Double-A Reading from 1998-2000 before taking a year off and returning as a roving instructor in '01. He worked with young players like Jimmy Rollins and Jason Michaels and will likely continue doing that in 2004.
Thompson teaches the skills that made him an integral outfielder with six teams -- including two stints with the Phillies -- and gave him a .274 average in 1,359 games. This is his first Major League coaching position.
Originally a 1979 second-round draft choice by the Braves, Thompson was dealt to the Phillies at the 1985 Winter Meetings with Steve Bedrosian for catcher Ozzie Virgil and pitcher Pete Smith. Three years later, he was sent to the Cardinals for Steve Lake and Curt Ford. Perhaps sensing the magic, Thompson returned to Philadelphia as a free agent on Dec. 9, 1992, in time for the '93 campaign.
He hit .262 in 340 at-bats in 1993, in the neighborhood of his career mark, but well off his high of .307, which he established in 1991 while with St. Louis. He hit .320 as a pinch-hitter in 1993, largely serving as the left-handed part of a platoon with Pete Incaviglia. He appeared in 129 games, the fourth-highest total in his career.
The Phillies clinched the NL East against Pittsburgh on Sept. 28, 1993, with Thompson going 2-for-3 with two runs scored in a 10-7 win. They then upset Thompson's original team -- the heavily favored Braves (104 regular-season wins).
Thompson hit .231 in the NLCS, then added a .313 average in six World Series games, with a home run and six RBIs. He drove in five runs in a 15-14 loss in Game 4 -- a franchise record for a World Series game.
"Nothing I've done in baseball can compare to the ride we had in '93," he said at this weekend's closing ceremonies for Veterans Stadium. "If you asked me about all the teams or where I played, '93 was the greatest year I've ever had. I'll never forget it."
Ken Mandel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.