In a move that was rumored for a while, Jeff Datz has rejoined new Mariners manager Eric Wedge to serve as his bench coach for 2011. The move was made official on Saturday evening and the full story is up on the Mariners site here. Datz served under Wedge in Cleveland and last year was his first year with the O’s.
On a professional note, Datz did great work defensively with catcher Matt Wieters. On a personal note, he was always cheerful and accommodating in my limited dealings with him.
The Orioles have yet to finalize their 2011 coaching staff, and as has been written before there are still several roles that need to be filled –namely bench coach. There are a couple other spots that, although likely, still aren’t final. Mark Connor and Juan Samuel, presumed to be pitching coach and third base coach, respectively, fall into that category.
