D-backs name Ron Gardenhire as bench coach, fill out Lovullo’s staff

The Arizona Diamondbacks filled out the coaching staff under new manager Torey Lovullo Thursday, with former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire headlining the list as Arizona’s new bench coach.

Gardenhire spent 13 seasons as the Twins’ from 2002-14 and went on to earn the AL Manager of the Year Award in 2010. In all, he finished in the top three in American League Manager of the Year balloting seven times. He guided the Twins to a 1,068-1,039 record and six AL Central titles in that span. As a player, Gardenhire played in 285 games for the New York Mets from 1981 to 1985.

The Diamondbacks have also announced Tony Perezchica as their new third base coach, replacing Matt Williams. The 50-year-old Perezchica has been in the Arizona organization for the past 14 seasons, most recently as the club’s field/infield coordinator. He’s also served as a minor league manager at the Rookie League, Single-A and Double-A levels in the D-backs’ farm system. Perezchica also spent time in the big leagues as a player with the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Indiana from 1988 to 1992.

Robby Hammock takes over as the quality control/catching coach. The 39-year-old, who played for 11 seasons in thd D-backs’ organization, has served as a minor league manager at Double-A Mobile for the past four years. His crowning achievement as a player was catching Randy Johnson’s perfect game in 2004 against the Atlanta Braves.

Former D-backs pitcher Mike Fetters shifts from quality control coach, where he served for four seasons, to bullpen coach. The 51-year-old pitched for the D-backs in 2002 and 2004 and has held many different positions in the organization over the last five years.

The club also announced pitching coach Mike Butcher, hitting coach Dave Magadan, first base coach Dave McKay and coach/interpreter Ariel Prieto will return to be a part of Lovullo’s staff in 2017.

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