DeMarlo Hale
DeMarlo Hale is an American professional baseball coach who is currently serving as the interim first base coach for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball for the 2020 season. Hale played minor league baseball from 1983 to 1988 in the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics organizations.
Following his playing career, Hale, a graduate of Chicago's CVS High School, worked at the Bucky Dent baseball school in Boca Raton, Florida from 1989 through 1992, when he became a coach for Double-A New Britain in the Eastern League. Hale started his managerial career in 1993 in the Boston farm system with High-A Fort Lauderdale Red Sox in the Florida State League. A year later, he guided Sarasota to the FLS playoffs, and in 1995 he also was a playoff qualifier with Michigan in the Midwest League, being rewarded as Manager of the Year. He spent 1996 with Sarasota and was promoted to Double-A Trenton in 1997, managing the American League team in the Double-A All-Star Game.
Hale guided Trenton to a league-best 92–50 record in 1999. That season, he also coached United States team in the All-Star Futures Game at Fenway Park, and was honored as Minor League Manager of the Year by Baseball America, The Sporting News and USA Today Baseball Weekly, as well as winning Eastern League honor.
converses with Ty Wigginton during a pitching change.
From 2000 to 2001, Hale managed for the Texas Rangers Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma RedHawks, as he guided his team to a pair of second-place finishes in the Pacific Coast League East Division, and worked with major league club at spring training. He was promoted as Rangers first base coach and outfield instructor, and continued in those duties through the 2005 season. In a nine-season managerial career, Hale posted a 634–614 record for a.508 winning percentage.
Before the 2006 season, Hale was named by the Boston Red Sox as their third base coach, replacing Dale Sveum. Hale had worked with Red Sox Manager Terry Francona before, when Francona was the Rangers bench coach in 2002. On November 23, 2009, Hale was named the new Red Sox bench coach.
During the 2010 off-season, Hale was rumored to be one of four finalists for the Toronto Blue Jays managerial job, along with Brian Butterfield, John Farrell, and Sandy Alomar Jr.. Following the 2011 season, Hale left the Red Sox organization to become the third base coach for the Baltimore Orioles. Following the 2012 season, on November 24, 2012, Hale was named as the new bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays replacing Don Wakamatsu. On April 28, 2013, Hale was ejected for the first time in his MLB career by umpire Chris Conroy for arguing Yankees batter Eduardo Nunez's delayed entrance into the batter's box.
Hale joined the Atlanta Braves in 2019, as a minor league coach and special assistant. He was named to the major league coaching staff in July 2020, as Eric Young opted not to travel with the team during the 2020 season, shortened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
