Report: Eric Chavez to become Mets new hitting coach

Eric Chavez Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images

Report: Six-time Gold Glove winner Eric Chavez to become Mets new hitting coach

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 1/6/22

The New York Mets are reportedly bringing in a former player with a pair of 30-plus home run seasons and four years of over 100 runs batted in to his credit to help their current lineup.

Eric Chavez will not be joining the Yankees coaching staff after all. Per source, Chavez will become the new Mets hitting coach.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 6, 2022

Chavez was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the 10th overall pick in the 1996 MLB June Amateur draft and made his MLB debut in 1998. Chavez spent the first 13 years of his career in Oakland, establishing himself as a premier defensive player at third base while joining forces with the likes of Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada in a powerful A's lineup that helped the club reach the playoffs in four straight seasons from 2000 through 2003.

The 44-year-old won six straight Gold Glove awards from 2001 through 2006, and earned a Silver Slugger award in 2002 when he hit a career-high 34 home runs. Chavez hit 32 home runs and drove in a career-high 114 runs in 2001, while also posting a career-best batting average (.288) and slugging percentage (.540).

The Los Angeles, Calif., native spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons with the New York Yankees, and wrapped up his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2013 and 2014.

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