{"id":236477,"date":"2013-10-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-04T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/trevor-hoffman-takes-the-field-again\/"},"modified":"2013-10-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-10-04T07:00:00","slug":"trevor-hoffman-takes-the-field-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/trevor-hoffman-takes-the-field-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Trevor Hoffman takes the field \u2026 again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Padres enhance the ex-star pitcher\u2019s role<\/strong><\/p>\n

Johnny McDonald |Downtown News<\/p>\n

The booming sound of those Hell\u2019s Bells bonging in Petco Park may have faded away but not so for the pitcher who caused that commotion when he walked from the bullpen to the pitching mound to register another save.<\/p>\n

The Padres value Trevor Hoffman\u2019s presence in the organization and recently boosted his responsibilities to the role of \u201cUpper Level Pitching Coordinator and Special Assistant to the General Manager.\u201d<\/p>\n

General Manager Josh Byrnes made the announcement of Hoffman\u2019s elevation as the team makes plans to improve its program in monitoring pitchers in the minors and majors.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrevor will be a key part of finishing the development of our younger pitchers,\u201d Byrnes said.\u00a0\u201cHis expertise, passion and communication skills will undoubtedly impact this critical area for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his career, the seven-time All-Star finished in the top 10 for Cy Young voting and the top 25 for Most Valuable Player voting on four occasions. He compiled 601 saves in 18 seasons.<\/p>\n

\"Hoffman<\/a>
Hoffman monitors batting practice during Spring Training. (Photo by Andy Hayt\/San Diego Padres)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During a press conference call on September 12, Hoffman said he felt he could be a conduit as a communicator, in helping the pitching staffs at all levels. \u201cMy work load has gone up, but this is an area I\u2019m passionate about. This is a great opportunity and it was important for me to take it. I\u2019ve always been comfortable on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since retiring from the playing field in January of 2011, Hoffman has served the last three seasons in the ball club\u2019s front office, as special assistant to the president and chief executive officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always felt comfortable, particularly in spring training, standing around talking to the guys, picking their brains \u2026 and vice versa,\u201d Hoffman told the media, adding that he would need to learn the position, particularly the coordinating aspect.<\/p>\n

He was asked what he expects to take from the job he has held for the past three years into the new job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned the importance of dialog and the importance of being on the same page,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have great people in the minor leagues.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great thing for us,\u201d said Padres Manager Bud Black of Hoffman\u2019s addition to the team\u2019s coaching and development staff. \u201cIt\u2019s great for the minor league and major league pitchers. On the mental side of the game, Trevor can add great insight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pumped that Trevor wants to do this,” Black said. “All around, there are a lot of positives. It\u2019s going to get the competitive juices flowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Byrnes said Hoffman was \u201cthe first person we called\u201d when the decision was made to add another high-level pitching coach, much the same way they added a second hitting coach last year.
\nWhile on the roster, Hoffman went through various pitching incarnations in San Diego. He once threw in the mid-90s (m.p.h.) but hurt his shoulder in 1994 and learned to do more with less by using the change-up. The change-up puts less strain on the arm than a split or hard slider. A message he might bestow to others.<\/p>\n

Hoffman has been involved in the local community since first joining the Padres in 1993. He has worked extensively with the National Kidney Foundation and Rady Children\u2019s Hospital, while also donating his time and resources to numerous community and military outreach programs and the youth Traveling Baseball League.<\/p>\n

In 2011, the Padres retired Hoffman\u2019s No. 51, an honor bestowed upon only four other former Padres: Steve Garvey, Tony Gwynn, Randy Jones and Dave Winfield.<\/p>\n

After an award winning, 38-year sports-writing career with the San Diego Union and authoring three books, Johnny McDonald now considers writing a hobby. He enjoys covering aspects of the port district, convention center, Balboa Park, zoo, and stories with a historical bent. You can reach him at johnny23@cox.net.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Padres enhance the ex-star pitcher\u2019s role Johnny McDonald |Downtown News The booming sound of those Hell\u2019s Bells bonging in Petco Park may have faded away but not so for the pitcher who caused that commotion when he walked from the bullpen to the pitching mound to register another save. The Padres value Trevor Hoffman\u2019s presence […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":236478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Trevor Hoffman takes the field \u2026 again","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11600,11550],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-sdnews","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}