Brad Wilkerson doesn't have any professional coaching experience, but the former big-league slugger is poised to fit right in on the Yankees' coaching staff this year.
New York announced on Monday that Wilkerson has joined Aaron Boone's staff as an assistant hitting coach, filling the role that was previously held by Hensley Meulens. Meulens departed this offseason, taking the lead hitting coach position with the Colorado Rockies.
Wilkerson, 45, joins the Yankees after spending the last three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Jacksonville University. Over the course of his eight-year playing career—suiting up for four different clubs from 2001 to 2008—Wilkerson hit .247 (788-for-3,187) with 500 runs, 399 RBI and 122 home runs. The former first-round pick finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2002 with the Montreal Expos.
With that experience, Wilkerson is confident that he can bring the most out of New York's star-studded offense, capable of supporting those hitters because he's been in their shoes.
"Talking to them about baseball and talking to them about situational hitting and decisions on when they're going to swing and why they're going to swing, seeing the baseball and getting these guys right, more so mentally than physically," Wilkerson said in a Zoom call with reporters on Monday. "Making sure their minds are clear and prepared each and every night to face whoever they're going to face on any given night. That's gonna be my role. I'm going to be in the dugout talking these guys, making sure they're right."
Considering only a handful of coaches in pinstripes have played in the big leagues, Wilkerson gives Yankees hitters another individual to lean on and another brain to pick. Wilkerson joked that he won't be messing around too much with reigning American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge, but he's eager to provide insight for everyone behind the scenes.
"There's so much preparation that goes into it, as far as the analytics side and everything we're doing, preparing these hitters on the video and things like that," Wilkerson explained. "This game is a game of adjustments, a lot of times pitch for pitch, and they're going to be asking questions. They want someone that they're going to be able to hopefully trust and build that rapport with. Just allow them to free their mind and be the best version of themselves each and every game."
It's no coincidence that Wilkerson's approach to hitting aligns with Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson and his "hit strikes hard" mantra as well.
"I was always a guy that was a pretty patient hitter. Aggressive but patient," Wilkerson explained. "The number one thing is you've got to get a good pitch to hit and you've got to hit it hard when it comes. Whether it's the first pitch or the eighth pitch of an at-bat, that's my biggest thing. Obviously we dig down deep in the cages and we work on mechanics, but I'm big on the mental approach and making sure with these guys that their minds are clear."
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