Report: Red Sox hire Chili Davis as hitting coach

The Boston Red Sox have agreed to terms with Chili Davis to become their hitting coach.

The Boston Red Sox have agreed to terms with Chili Davis to become their hitting coach, reports WEEI.com.

Davis had spent the past three seasons as the hitting coach for the Oakland Athletics. He replaces Greg Colbrunn, who the Red Sox announced earlier this month wouldn't be returning to the position in 2015.

Colbrunn had been Boston's hitting coach the past two seasons, leading the Red Sox' offense to a first-place finish in runs scored in baseball in 2013 en route to the team's championship. This season, Boston slid to 18th in runs. Colbrunn spent time away from the team in June due to a brain hemorrhage but eventually returned and resumed his full duties.

Davis, 54, oversaw Oakland's offenses that finished 14th, fourth and fourth in MLB in runs in 2012-14, respectively, despite playing home games in the pitcher-friendly confines of the Coliseum. The A's struggled offensively over the last two months of this season, contributing to the team nearly missing the playoffs despite leading the American League West for most of the beginning of the season.

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Before working for the A's, Davis earned his first hitting coach position in 2011 for the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's Triple A affiliate.

A former outfielder, Davis had a 19-year major league career with the San Francisco Giants, California Angels, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees. He was a three-time All-Star and won the World Series with the Twins in 1991 and the Yankees in 1998 and 1999. For his career, Davis batted .274 with an .811 OPS and hit 350 home runs.

According to the report, the team will now conduct interviews for assistant hitting coach this week. It's unknown if Victor Rodriguez, who's held the position the last two years, is a candidate to keep the job, but he and Davis worked together in 2011, with Rodriguez serving as the organization's minor league hitting coordinator at the time.

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- Ben Estes