The Angels on Tuesday hired former big league catcher Josh Paul to be their bench coach.
The Angels on Tuesday hired former big league catcher Josh Paul to be their bench coach.
Paul most recently worked as the New York Yankees ’ minor league catching coordinator, and previously held other roles in the organization as a scout and minor league manager. He at times reported to then-Yankee executive Billy Eppler, who is now the Angels’ general manager.
Paul, 42, played parts of nine seasons for four major league teams, never in a full-time role. He was the third-string catcher in Anaheim under current Angels manager Mike Scioscia in 2004 and 2005.
In his last appearance as an Angel, Paul was famously catching when A. J. Pierzynski took first base on a disputed dropped third strike call. Paul had retrieved the ball and rolled it back to the mound and was jogging to the dugout before realizing Pierzynski would be allowed first base.
It was the ninth inning of the second game of the 2005 American League Championship Series against the Chicago White Sox, with the score tied 1-1. Pierzynski was replaced by a pinch-runner, who later scored the winning run, and the White Sox went on to win eight consecutive games to win the World Series.
Earlier this month, the Angels created a bench-coach vacancy by shifting Dino Ebel to third-base coach when incumbent Ron Roenicke left to become Boston’s bench coach.
pedro.moura@latimes.com
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