If you are watching the New York Yankees spring training games, you should have noticed a familiar face sitting next to Manager Aaron Boone in the dugout. His new right hand man, hired by the team last November is Bench Coach Brad Ausmus.

Ausmus, 54, is a familiar face in the sport of Major League Baseball, with being named the Yankees bench coach, he began his 34th year in the game.

“It’s the Yankees. Every single year they’re going to try to win the World Series. That can’t be said about every organization. And I want to be part of a World Series team.”

Brad Ausmus

Coincidentally, Brad began his career with the Yankees, selected as a catcher in the 48th round of the 1987 First Year Player Draft. Ausmus opted to continue his education at Dartmouth University and played baseball in the Yankees minor league system while not in school, from 1988-1992.

Ausmus was then selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 1992 Expansion Draft. The first half of 1993, Ausmus played for the Rockies AAA team, but was traded to the San Diego Padres on July 26. Brad began his Major League career 2 days later.

The New Haven, Connecticut resident then spent his 18 tears of playing days amassing an impressive collection of awards, including 1999 All Star selection, three Gold Glove awards, (2001,2002, 2006) the 2007 Darryl Kile Award, (given for outstanding integrity and courage) and inducted to the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

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The catcher, who is 8th in MLB games played, is also 4th in MLB history in put-outs by a catcher, (12,839) plus the following career stats: .251 BA, .325 OBP, 607 RBI, 80 HR and 634 BB.

In addition to his obvious game experience, Ausmus brings extensive management experience to his new position. He has been Front Office Special Assistant, (Padres, 2010-2013) Manager of the Detroit Tigers, (2014-2017) Manager of the Los Angeles Angels, (2019) Bench Coach, (Oakland Athletics, 2022) and also was Manager of the Israel WBC team in 2012, and their Bench Coach in 2023.

Ausmus has never reached a World Series in his career, and said about the Yankees upon his hire, “It’s the Yankees. Every single year they’re going to try to win the World Series. That can’t be said about every organization. And I want to be part of a World Series team.”

Ausmus sees his role as being an asset to Manager Aaron Boone by being prepared to assist with decisions by having information at the time or in upcoming innings. And also being honest with his observations, while knowing that he and Boone will not always agree.

The Yankees organization has been assessing their use of analytics since last season with Captain Aaron Judge bringing up questions and President Randy Levine doing an internal audit regarding the subject. How will Ausmus fit in to any new scheme?

He sees analytics being about 85% of the picture, but the rest the “human side of it, truth is, a lot of data is extremely valuable, but so is experience. I put a lot of stock in decision-making that is based on data, still you have to use your eyes as well. It’s not a vacuum out there. I put a lot of emphasis on data, but it’s not the entire answer to winning baseball games.”

The vibe with the 2024 Yankees so far is undeniably different. The addition of such a knowledgeable and experienced man sitting in the dug out next to Boone will be another advantage the team takes to the season in 2024. Welcome to the team you began with, Brad Ausmus!

By : Shelley Tamasi

Photos courtesy of; Bleeding Yankee Blue,