XX Sports Radio: Wally Joyner Interview (MP3)
- Wally Joyner's resignation was accepted - effective immediately. He will not finish out the season as previously reported.
- Wally gave his letter of resignation yesterday morning and left it on Kevin Tower's desk. He'd been thinking about it for a few days. What led up to it was that he didn't have the full attention of his hitters.
- He felt like he was out of the loop, so he thought it was best for him to move on.
- it's not the way Wally likes to do business.
- Nevin says other people were bringing things into the hitters minds that made the situation tough.
- Nevin says that Wally is a great hitting coach and the team loved him.
- Wally says that he wasn't being included in everything that he should have been included in. He couldn't help with out knowing everything. He was frustrated and decided he didn't care for it.
- The chance that he wasn't going to be brought back next season did not have any affect on his decision. What was happening wasn't acceptable
- He wasn't included in the loop. He can't say who was included in the loop. He says that there isn't a problem with too many chefs in the kitchen if they are trying to make the same recipe.
- It was very frustrating for him to find out these things. His position was the hitting coach and it was to prepare them to be their best everyday and he did that. To find out that other things were going on that he wasn't aware of frustrated him because it prevented the players from doing their best.
- Nevin says that it should be more frustrating for Wally because he played the game faced pitchers, etc and the hitters were getting coached by people that never played the game and never experienced Major League Baseball first as a player.
- Wally thinks it's important to be prepared to be a MLB player and he doesn't think the Padres think differently than that. They just go about it differently.
- Wally told Buddy Black that he was disappointed that he was resigning from a job that he loved. He had to do it though. He thinks he became a better hitting coach because of this year. He'll continue to be friends with Kevin Towers. He'd like to continue to be a coach.
- Wally had planned on finishing his commitment to the team. He loves the players. He planned on going to LA. The Front Office told him not to go to LA and that his position with the Padres was over.
- Wally texted his hitters and told them how much he appreciated them. [Wally breaking up, very emotional]
- It was one thing that made him quit, but things kept coming up that continued to surprise him.
NC Times: Just who is coaching Padres' hitters?
"It was my understanding that I didn't have the full attention of my hitters that I thought I did for the period of time I was coaching them," Joyner said.
"So, without going into it, I felt like I was out of the loop and therefore I thought it was best to move on. ... Finding out there was other things going on I was not aware of frustrated me because it prevented these guys from being their best.
"It was just apparent to me I wasn't being included in everything I think I should have been included in and there was no way I could help without knowing it. And so I was frustrated and decided that I didn't care for it."
Said Joyner: "I think there was one thing that broke the camel's back, but I think there were things going on that continued to surprise me. So, again, this was my decision to do. There are opinions and systems that everyone is entitled to do and my opinion is I'm better off stepping down and moving on."