Roenicke Named Manager of Boston Red Sox
February 11, 2020 | Baseball
Update: Apr. 22, 2020ย โ Boston removed the interim tag from Roenicke, making him the club's official manager.ย
FORT MYERS, Fla โ The Boston Red Sox officially named UCLA alumnus Ron Roenicke as the club's new interim manager on Tuesday afternoon.
Roenicke served as Boston's bench coach over the last two seasons, helping the Red Sox to the 2018 World Series title. The 63-year old has coached in professional baseball since the early 1990s, including a stint as the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers from 2011-15.
According to MLB.com's Ian Browne, Roenicke has a chance to become the permanent manager following the conclusion of MLB's sign-stealing investigation.
"Ron's extensive coaching and managerial experience, in addition to his familiarity with our players and staff, make him an ideal fit as we prepare for the 2020 season," said Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. "He has the respect of everyone in the clubhouse, and the way he carries himself and communicates will be a positive influence on our entire organization. We are confident that Ron will hit the ground running, and we're excited to work closely with him as he leads our group forward."
With Roenicke's hiring, UCLA now has three alums serving as active managers of MLB clubs. He joins Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Torey Lovullo of the Arizona Diamonbacks. No other university in the country has more than one alumnus managing at the MLB level.
Roenicke played at UCLA for the 1977 season, batting .284 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs before being drafted in the first round (No. 17 overall) of that summer's MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase by the Dodgers. He would go on to make his major league debut with Los Angeles as an outfielder in 1981. In an eight-year MLB playing career with Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati, he batted .238 with 256 hits, 17 home runs, and 113 RBIs over 527 games.
A Covina, Calif. native, Roenicke accrued a 342-331 record (.508 winning percentage) in five seasons as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers from 2011-15. In his first year at the helm, the Brewers went 96-66 en route to an NL Central title.
UCLA officially opens the 2020ย season at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Feb. 14ย by hosting UC Riverside. Single-game and season tickets for the upcoming campaign are now available, and can be purchased by calling 310-UCLA-WIN or clickingย HERE.ย
