Ruben Amaro Jr. Added to the Fenway Staff

By Maria Santora  11/9/15
Ruben Amaro Jr. is trading in his Phillies’ gear after sixteen years in the team’s front office.

The Philadelphia Phillies fired Amaro on Sept. 10 after conflicts with his tenure. He had been with the team as General Manager for seven consecutive years and assistant GM for nine years prior.

The baseball world was without a doubt taken by surprise today when the Boston Red Sox announced they had hired Amaro as the team’s new first base coach.

The Sox had been searching for a new first base coach after the team dismissed Arnie Beyeler at the end of the 2015 season.

Red Sox manager John Farrell reached out to his former teammate Amaro last week to gauge his interest in the coaching position.

This career move is unique for Amaro considering his long ties to the Phillies program and his total lack of coaching experience on the professional level.

“I guess it is unusual,” Amaro said. “But for me, I’ve always had kind of an itch to be back on the field…it’s always been something I’ve thought about quite a bit. And I was afforded a wonderful opportunity when John called about eight or ten days ago. One thing kind of led to another and here I am.”

Amaro’s duties with his new team, in addition to coaching first base, will be to help the Red Sox’s outfielders and base runners as well as to throw ambidextrous batting practice.

He stated that he is excited to work in Boston after the team’s success in the second half of the season and to work with the top-notch outfield talent on Boston’s roster.

“There are some talented young players here, there’s no question about it,” Amaro said. “I’m excited about it…I’m gonna do my best to teach what I’ve learned over the years and some of the things that I’ve learned from some great outfield instructors myself.”

Amaro revealed that he has already lost 10 pounds in preparation for his coaching debut.