Brad Wilkerson in 2018 when the 1998 Gators were honored for their trip to the College World Series. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Wilkerson Returns to Majors in New Role
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 | Baseball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When Brad Wilkerson finished second for National League Rookie of the Year in 2002, his Montreal Expos manager was Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. The team's hitting coach was Tommy McCraw, who spent most of his career with the Chicago White Sox in the 1960s.
The game's dugout approach has shifted dramatically in the 21 years since Wilkerson's rookie year. The former Gators slugger was named assistant hitting coach for the New York Yankees this week, a return to the majors for Wilkerson, who finished his playing career in 2008 with Toronto. Wilkerson joins a Yankees coaching staff that includes Dillon Lawson as the team's primary hitting coach, and Casey Dykes as an assistant hitting instructor.
The 45-year-old Wilkerson, whose .381 career batting average remains the school record, spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Jacksonville University.
Wilkerson played eight seasons in the big leagues after the Expos drafted him in the first round of the 1998 MLB amateur draft. He played for the Expos/Nationals, Rangers, Mariners and Blue Jays, finishing his career with a .247 career average, 122 home runs and 399 RBI. He helped lead Florida to a pair of trips to the College World Series (1996 and '98) and was named National Player of the Year in '98.
Wilkerson got into coaching at King's Academy in West Palm Beach in the last decade and is now back in the majors, tutoring a Yankees lineup that features Aaron Judge, who clubbed an American League-record 62 home runs last season.
"My future role with the Yankees is just being there for the hitters," Wilkerson told MLB.com. "It's talking to them about baseball, about situational hitting and decisions, when they're going to swing and why they're going to swing. It's just seeing the baseball and getting these guys right, moreso mentally than physically, in a lot of ways. It's just making sure their minds are clear and prepared each and every night."
The Yankees open spring training Feb. 16 when pitchers and catchers report to Tampa.
The game's dugout approach has shifted dramatically in the 21 years since Wilkerson's rookie year. The former Gators slugger was named assistant hitting coach for the New York Yankees this week, a return to the majors for Wilkerson, who finished his playing career in 2008 with Toronto. Wilkerson joins a Yankees coaching staff that includes Dillon Lawson as the team's primary hitting coach, and Casey Dykes as an assistant hitting instructor.
The 45-year-old Wilkerson, whose .381 career batting average remains the school record, spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Jacksonville University.
Wilkerson played eight seasons in the big leagues after the Expos drafted him in the first round of the 1998 MLB amateur draft. He played for the Expos/Nationals, Rangers, Mariners and Blue Jays, finishing his career with a .247 career average, 122 home runs and 399 RBI. He helped lead Florida to a pair of trips to the College World Series (1996 and '98) and was named National Player of the Year in '98.
Wilkerson got into coaching at King's Academy in West Palm Beach in the last decade and is now back in the majors, tutoring a Yankees lineup that features Aaron Judge, who clubbed an American League-record 62 home runs last season.
"My future role with the Yankees is just being there for the hitters," Wilkerson told MLB.com. "It's talking to them about baseball, about situational hitting and decisions, when they're going to swing and why they're going to swing. It's just seeing the baseball and getting these guys right, moreso mentally than physically, in a lot of ways. It's just making sure their minds are clear and prepared each and every night."
The Yankees open spring training Feb. 16 when pitchers and catchers report to Tampa.
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