Ex-New York Yankees' Coach Joins Staff of AL East Rival

Former New York Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson is joining the Boston Red Sox as an assistant hitting coach.

Logan VanDine | Oct 28, 2024

Jul 22, 2022; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson (74) stands with manager Aaron Boone (17) before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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This former New York Yankees' hitting coach is joining a division rival's big-league staff for the 2025 season.

Dillon Lawson was promoted by the Boston Red Sox on Sunday to be the team's assistant hitting coach after spending this past season as their minor league hitting coordinator.

New York promoted Lawson to MLB hitting coach in 2022 after being the team's minor league hitting coordinator since 2018.

The Bronx Bombers offense found a lot of success under Lawson in his first season as the hitting coach during the 2022 season as the Yankees ranked second in runs per game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Yankees' strong season on offense in 2022 was thanks in large part to Aaron Judge's record-breaking 62 home run and AL MVP-winning campaign.

New York's offense saw a major decline the following year as offensive struggles during the first half of last season resulted in Lawson being fired on July 9, 2023. The Yankees replaced Lawson with former three-time All-Star first baseman Sean Casey, who served as New York's hitting coach for the second half of the 2023 season.

Casey did not return to the Yankees after the conclusion of last season, which led to the organization hiring current hitting coach James Rowson.

The Red Sox hired Lawson in December of 2023 to serve as their minor league hitting coordinator, primarily to work with Boston's upper–level minor leaguers. After just one season in that position, he is now getting another shot to coach at the major league level as he will be one of three assistants who will work under hitting coach Peter Fatse.

The Red Sox ranked ninth in runs per game in 2024 and they hope that Lawson's presence will provide a boost on offense. Beginning in 2025, the Yankees will see plenty of their former hitting coach now that he has been elevated to their AL East rival's big-league staff.

Published Oct 28, 2024

LOGAN VANDINE

Logan is a graduate of Rider University where he majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. During his time at Rider, Logan worked for Rider's radio station, 107.7 The Bronc as a sports host, producer and broadcaster, and for the school's paper: The Rider News. He began his time with The Rider News as a section writer for sports and was a copy editor for two years followed by being one of the sports editors during his senior year. Logan also placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundation Awards for sports feature writing. Aside from his work on Yankees and Mets On SI, he is also a writer for FanSided covering the New York Giants and Mets and also covers the Giants for Total Apex Sports.