In 2003 Darren Balsley took over as the Padres pitching coach. He kept that job for 16 years, earning the reputation as one of the best instructors in the business, even earning a shout out during the Hall of Fame induction speech of one Greg Maddux.
But as the Padres turn over their coaching staff under new manager Jayce Tingler, things they are a-changing. Even the longest-tenured pitching coach in the National League is going to be doing something else in 2020.
The Padres are going to hire Larry Rothschild as their new pitching coach. Rothschild had the same position for the last nine years with the New York Yankees. He is also known as one of the top pitching instructors at the Major League level.
Rothschild began his coaching career in 1986. He was the pitching coach with the Marlins 1997 World Series champs before being named the first skipper in Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays history, spending three years at the helm there.
San Diego has a handful of the game's top pitching prospects, including Chris Paddack, MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino, that are now in the hands of Rothschild. It will be his job to help them live up to their substantial potential, as well as getting current big leaguers like Eric Lauer and Joey Lucchesi to be more consistently effective.
And it looks like Balsley will still be around to help with the transition. He's reportedly going to stay with the organization in some unknown capacity as the Padres try to keep as many good baseball people around as possible.
