The Philadelphia Phillies announced on Monday that they have hired Bobby Dickerson as the club's new infield coach.
Dickerson replaces former infield coach Juan Castro, who the Phillies fired earlier this month, along with hitting coach Joe Dillon.
Dickerson was first brought on by the Phillies as an infield coach in January 2019. He spent the 2019 season in red pinstripes, but promptly left that offseason to join the San Diego Padres organization.
Dickerson was named the bench coach for the Padres in December 2019. For the 2021 season, Dickerson also assumed the role of third base coach for San Diego after the retirement of Glenn Hoffman.
Prior to his stints with Philadelphia and San Diego, Dickerson was the third base coach for the Baltimore Orioles from 2011 to 2018. Dickerson was a coach to Manny Machado for his entire tenure in Baltimore, hence why the 56-year-old may have been enticed to make the move to Manny's new digs in San Diego, having known the player since he was a rookie.
But with the Padres moving on from manager Jayce Tingler, Dickerson may have also felt it was time to move on with yet another changing of coaching staff.
If his previous time with the Phillies organization is any indication, Dickerson is the right guy for the job. As The Philadelphia Inquirer's Bob Brookover noted in 2019, Dickerson is an "old-school baseball coach open to analytics technology," and "the players appear to love him. It’s a common sight to see infielders in the Phillies clubhouse seek out Dickerson to let him know they want his help."
And now Dickerson returns to Philadelphia, in hopes that he can help a struggling Phillies infield with their defense.
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