The New York Yankees made it official Thursday, announcing Matt Blake as their new pitching coach after reports of his hiring surfaced last week.
Blake served as the Cleveland Indians’ assistant director of player development for three seasons before being promoted to be the team’s director of pitching development.
The 34-year-old Blake will replace Larry Rothschild, who had served as the Yankees’ pitching coach since 2011 before he was fired on Oct. 28.
Last season, the Indians saw five young starters who worked with Blake contribute at the major league level. Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac, Adam Plutko and Aaron Civale were developed in Cleveland’s farm system.
Prior to joining the Indians, Blake was associated with Cressey Sports Performance, which has Florida and Massachusetts locations. A Holy Cross graduate, Blake was an area scout for the Yankees in 2010.
Despite a rash of injuries this year, New York finished in the middle of the pack (14th) in the major leagues with a 4.31 regular-season ERA. The Yankees’ 2.87 ERA in the postseason ranked second among the 10 playoff teams.
New York wound up losing the American League Championship Series to the Astros, with Jose Altuve’s ninth-inning homer off Aroldis Chapman in Game 6 sending Houston to the World Series.
Rothschild had previous experience as manager of the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998-2001) and as pitching coach of the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, then-Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs — a resume far different than the one Blake brings to the role.
