Orioles officially name Russell to coaching staff
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
The Pirates will be seeing a good amount of John Russell again in 2011, though obviously on the other side of the lines. Russell has formally been announced as the Orioles’ third base coach after Willie Randolph took the bench coach position on Buck Showalter’s staff. Both Randolph (Mets) and Russell are former big league managers.
Russell will still be paid by the Pirates next season, since he had one more year on his contract.
“There were three good years in Pittsburgh,” Russell said. “Obviously our record wasn’t very good. But I enjoyed my time there and learned a lot. [I] got to work with some very young players and it was a lot of fun for me. You learn a lot about different players.”
The Orioles, who hold Spring Training in nearby Sarasota, will face the Pirates five times this spring. Russell will then return to Pittsburgh in June when the Orioles come for a three-game series (June 20-22).
“Looking at Baltimore, I saw them last year in Spring Training and saw some of their young players and I was pretty encouraged,” Russell said. “When Buck started you began to see some of the things I saw in Spring Training.”
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Randolph was dismissed from the Mets job in 2008. Jerry Manuel, his replacement, was dismissed this year. Randolph most recently held a post on the coaching staff of Brewer manager Ken Macha, who was also dismissed this year.