The Phillies named another member of the coaching staff on Friday. Like manager Gabe Kapler, this latest addition has a very interesting resume. Jim Gott, who pitched in the major leagues from 1982 through 1995, will join the Phillies as their bullpen coach. Most recently the position was filled by John McLaren, who also served as catching coach.
Gott has a very interesting resume. Gott has appeared on the covers of a few Karate magazines, had aspirations of appearing in martial arts movies, and enjoys ballet and opera (thank you, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer for all this important information. In the baseball world, Gott has worked in the Angeles organization the last five seasons as minor league pitching coordinator.
Gott has two sons with autism and has dedicated time after his playing career to work with young people who are affected by autism. As written about on MLB.com back in 2008, Gott and his wife Cathy have created "Danny's Farm", a petting zoo. Gott's son Danny gravitated towards animals growing up with autism.
At one point in Gott's career, he was the single-season leader in saves for the Pittsburgh Pirates, breaking a record held by Kent Tekulve with 34 saves. The record now belongs to Mike Williams, the one-time Phillies reliever, with 46.
As Phillies writer Ben Harris noted on Twitter, Gott pitched the day Cal Ripken, Jr. began his consecutive games streak.
The move could mean that Rick Kranitz will be the team's pitching coach. Having a pitching-minded bullpen coach could mean that the club will use Gott and Kranitz together to work with the team's pitchers, while having another uniformed coach serving in another capacity. Kranitz was assistant pitching coach in 2017 after serving as bullpen coach in 2016.
The Phillies still need to fill coaching positions at first base and the important role of bench coach. With now four coaches on board, the Phillies will have the option for another uniformed coach besides those hired already, the first base and bench coach who can fill a role at their discretion. This could be an assistant hitting coach, a catching coach, or any other role they choose, with the number of uniformed coaches being seven.
