Giants Hire Former Yankees Hitting Coach James Rowson as Offensive Coordinator, Reports Say
Rowson, 50, would replace Hunter Mense on manager Tony Vitello's staff. Buster Posey said assistant hitting coach Oscar Bernard will stay. The Yankees ranked fourth in wRC+ and first in home runs over Rowson's 2023-26 tenure there.
By the Bay Area Brief staff · Edited by Seamus McKenna · · 3 min read
Oracle Park entrance, home of the San Francisco Giants. Photo: Sarah Stierch (Missvain) / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped, resized and color-graded). Archive photo of the area; not a photo of the events in this story.
The San Francisco Giants are hiring former New York Yankees hitting coach James Rowson as "offensive coordinator" to replace departed hitting coach Hunter Mense, according to reports cited by the San Francisco Chronicle. The hire has been reported, not in all respects announced by the team.
Rowson, 50, is reportedly joining manager Tony Vitello's staff. Assistant hitting coach Oscar Bernard will remain in his role, president of baseball operations Buster Posey said Tuesday.
Rowson had been the Yankees' hitting coach since 2023. Over that span, New York's 107 wRC+ ranked fourth, its 953 home runs ranked first, and its .322 weighted on-base average ranked sixth, the Chronicle reported. The Giants were 26th in runs per game last season at 4.13 and posted a 97 wRC+, 24th in baseball.
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