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With the departure of hitting coach Mark Kotsay, who has taken a bench coach position with the Oakland Athletics, new Padres skipper Andy Green will be bringing in another new guy to his coaching staff in 2016. Today we learned from Corey Brock that that new guy will be Alan Zinter.
Zinter spent last season with the Houston Astros as the assistant hitting coach to Dave Hudgens, under former Padres vice president of professional scouting, A.J. Hinch, who left the Padres to manage the Astros in 2015. Prior to joining Hinch's staff, Zinter coached in the minors starting in 2008 for the Arizona Diamondbacks at the rookie, high-A, and double-A levels. He was also the minor league hitting coordinator for the Cleveland Indians in 2012.
Zinter was drafted by the New York Mets in the first round (24th overall) in the 1989 Draft. Though he was drafted as a catcher, he eventually moved to first base where he spent most of his playing career, which involved big league stints with the Astros in 2002 and the Diamondbacks in 2004. Andy Green also happened to be on that 2004 team.
Source: #Padres new hitting coach will be Alan Zinter. He was the assistant hitting coach last season with the #Astros.
— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) November 16, 2015
#Padres manager Andy Green and hitting coach Alan Zinter were teammates in 2004 with the #Dbacks. Was a coach in D-backs system (2008-11).
— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) November 16, 2015
What a great story Alan Zinter is: 1st rounder in 1989, kicked around Minors (some in Japan) for 14 years before stint with Astros in 2002.
— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) November 16, 2015
Scrolling through Twitter, it seems like Astros fans and media will miss Zinter, which is always a good sign for a new guy in the organization. And I like pulling for guys who seem like they've come a long way in their career and they're finally getting their big shot. He's like a Tim Stauffer type, and I love me some Tim Stauffer.
Astros assistant hitting coach Alan Zinter on going to Padres: "It's an opportunity to be the No. 1 guy and try to get them going..."
— Brian McTaggart ⚾️ (@brianmctaggart) November 16, 2015