The Los Angeles Dodgers coaching staff will look a little different next season as Clayton McCullough was hired to become the new Miami Marlins manager.
The 44-year-old was popular during his time with the Dodgers as Mookie Betts most notably referred to him as one of his favorite coaches ever. Betts also chose McCullough to throw to him in the 2023 MLB Home Run Derby.
McCullough spent 10 seasons in the Dodgers organization, including the last four as first base coach under manager Dave Roberts.
Now as he prepares for his first MLB manager job, McCullough praised Roberts for fostering a positive work environment and trusting everyone to do their jobs, via “MLB Tonight” on MLB Network:
“Dave was such a phenomenal person. The one thing I learned from Dave is the infectious amount of energy he had each and every day. Dave came into the clubhouse, was around the coaches, he just had a way of making you feel like you’re the only one there. He gave us staffer members a lot of autonomy and trust to go out and do our job and have the players prepared for that night’s game.
“I couldn’t be more thankful for having a chance to spend four years with Dave, just to see the inner workings of how much it takes to get the players prepared for a game. That’s information we get from our front office, our analytics group, and then also the legwork the staff members do with breaking down video and trying to bring some of these bits of information from a game planning perspective to life, that were digestible for our players.
“On the player improvement side as well, how to take every bit of resource we have, try to make it livable and usable for the individuals.”
McCullough’s comments are in line with nearly everyone who has discussed Roberts’ impact on the Dodgers over the years.
Max Muncy recently praised the nine-year skipper for his player-first approach and believes he will go down as one of the best managers in Dodgers franchise history.
McCullough will now look to apply some of the knowledge he gained from Roberts as Marlins manager. The team endured a dreadful 2024 season, but there is hope that McCullough can right the ship.
McCullough has already begun filling out his coaching staff as he will reportedly bring in former Dodgers prospect Pedro Guerrero to be the team’s hitting coach.
Clayton McCullough was main target for Marlins manager
As soon as Skip Schumaker and the Marlins mutually agreed to part ways after the 2024 season, the team reportedly targeted McCullough for their managerial opening.
McCullough had been a popular candidate for several managerial openings over recent years.
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