The St. Louis Cardinals announced their 2023 Major League coaching staff today with five newly-filled positions announced, along with six returning coaches, and Oliver Marmol, who will be entering his second season as the Redbirds manager.
New to their positions on the 2023 staff will be Cardinals Hall of Famer and former outfielder Matt Holliday as Bench Coach, Dusty Blake as Pitching Coach, and Turner Ward as Hitting Coach.
Cardinals manager Oli Marmol joined KMOX to talk about the decision to bring Holliday in.
“No doubt this is a good thing for us. If you're gonna replace Skip, being able to do it with Matty is a good move. This guy knows how to win. And he devoted to it, he sacrificed his entire career to it as a player,” Marmol said. “This is an unbelievable baseball mind…but also the credibility of walking in that clubhouse and having the trust of the players and being able to speak to what we do here in St. Louis.”
In addition, Brandon Allen, a member of the Cardinals Minor League coaching staff, has been named Assistant Hitting Coach, and Julio Rangel, most recently a member of the Boston Red Sox staff, has been named Assistant Pitching Coach/Bullpen.
Returning coaching staff members include Patrick Elkins (Run Production), Stubby Clapp (1st Base), Ron “Pop” Warner (3rd Base), Willie McGee (Coach), Jamie Pogue (Bullpen Catcher) and Kleininger Teran (Bullpen Catcher).
Holliday, 42, who has recently been coaching at Oklahoma State University, will be entering his first coaching stint at the Major League level after a 15-year playing career that included seven All-Star selections and a World Series title with the Cardinals in 2011.
Ward, 57, has previously held the Hitting Coach position with Cincinnati (2019), Los Angeles Dodgers (2016-18) and Arizona (2014-15). He joined the Cardinals Major League coaching staff this past season as Assistant Hitting Coach.
Blake, 40, joined the Cardinals organization in 2021 as Pitching Strategist. He served as the Pitching Coach for Duke University from 2018-20 and pitched collegiately for Appalachian State University.
Allen, 36, spent four seasons (2009-12) in the majors playing outfield for Arizona, Oakland and Tampa Bay. He has been a member of the Cardinals minor league coaching staff since 2017, including the past three seasons as the Hitting Coach at Memphis (AAA).
Rangel, 47, has extensive coaching experience dating back to 2016 after a seven-year playing career in the New York Yankees minor league system from 1994-2000. The Panama native served as the Red Sox Pitching Coordinator the last two seasons, and held the Major League Pitching Coach position for the Texas Rangers from 2019-20.
