Joe Espada new Astros manager
\n”, “providerName”: “Twitter”, “providerUrl”: “https://twitter.com”, “type”: “oembed”, “width”: 550, “contentType”: “rich”},{ “__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “Crane made it clear that he wanted his first-year GM to select a manager he would be comfortable with. He didn’t have to look far.\n\n”This is probably one of my biggest hires in my career and it gives me a lot of excitement,” Brown said. “I appreciated Jim Crane allowing me to take the lead and I have continued to keep him updated on what my thought process was and where we are going in this direction.”\n\nEspada, who said on After learning Sunday that he had the job, it appears he has always been the Astros’ top candidate, considering his popularity with players and his reputation as a great communicator. And with the Astros returning most of their key players from last season’s team that reached the ALCS for the seventh straight season, Espada’s promotion makes for a seamless transition. OEmbed”,”html”:”
New title. Same golden era. pic.twitter.com/O8ouTRIK8c
— Houston Astros (@astros) November 13, 2023
\n\n”, “providerName”: “Twitter”, “providerUrl”: “https://twitter.com”, “type”: “oembed”, “width”: 550, “contentType”: “rich”} ,{“__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: The 48-year-old Espada was hired as replacement coach by AJ Hinch ahead of the 2018 season and has big shoes to fill. The Astros have played in seven consecutive ALCS, and the previous two managers – Hinch and Baker – won World Series titles in Houston.\n\n”I had a front row seat to two incredible managers,” Espada said. “For the last four years I’ve worked for Dusty and watched him network and work, and to say I was the backup coach to a future Hall of Fame manager is incredible. “It’s an honor. And just watching him prepare, how he communicates, how much he cares about winning, how much he pushes the players in a good way – he really cares about the importance of communication and collaboration , and it allows us coaches to do our best job of getting the guys ready to play. I really appreciated that and think it will really help me in my next step.”\n\nEspada wasn’t ready to say who will replace him as bench coach, although first base coach Omar Lopez is a strong candidate has slipped into this role. Most of the coaches on the team are under contract for next season, so with Espada at the helm there shouldn’t be much turnover in the team. For Espada, it’s a key task.\n\n”I’ve seen this team win a lot of games and I know what it takes to win,” said Espada. “I know how to push these players and when to push them. It is important. The players trust me, but trust has to be earned and it’s a two-way street. I think I’ve done a good job making sure these players know what’s important and I think that’s helped me be a good fit for this job.””,”type”:”text”} ,{“__typename”: “OEmbed”, “html”:
Espada about his mother Miriam and his father Dolores. pic.twitter.com/89wkQLupxU
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) November 13, 2023
\n\n”, “providerName”: “Twitter”, “providerUrl”: “https://twitter.com”, “type”: “oembed”, “width”: 550, “contentType”: “rich”} ,{“__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: Espada, a native of Puerto Rico, played 10 seasons in the minor leagues (1996-2005) after being selected in the second round of the 1996 MLB Draft of Mobile. As a player, he spent time in the Oakland, Florida, Colorado, Kansas City, St. Louis, Texas and Tampa Bay organizations, reaching Triple-A. After retiring as a player, he coached in the Marlins system beginning in 2006. He was 13 years old and joined the major league club in 2010 as third base coach. He spent four seasons (2014–17) with the Yankees as a scout and third base coach (2015–17) and then was hired by the Astros just days after their victory in the 2017 World Series to replace replacement coach Alex Cora, who was the took over as manager in Boston.\n\n“This is a very special place. It’s unique,” Espada said. “There is no place like this anywhere in professional sports and I’m just glad I’m home.” astros-manager”,”contentType”:”news”,”subHeadline”:””,”summary”:”HOUSTON – Astros -General manager Dana Brown assisted new manager Joe Espada in symbolically donning his No. 19 jersey at the start of a Monday morning press conference at Minute Maid Park and immediately noticed Espada’s 2022 World Series ring as he fastened the buttons.\n “I like”,tagline({\”formatString\”:\”none\”}) “:null,”tags”:[{“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-117″,”title”:”Houston Astros”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:117″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”brian-mctaggart”,”title”:”Brian McTaggart”,”type”:”contributor”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”}]”type”: “story”, “thumbnail”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/euk257elqkd9aoaq8zuk”, “title”: “Joe Espada new Astros manager “}},”Team:117”:{“__typename”:”Team”, “id”:117}}} window.adobeAnalytics = {“reportingSuiteId”: “mlbglobal08, mlbcom08”, “linkInternalFilters”: “mlb” } window.globalState = {“tracking_title”: “Major League Baseball”, “lang”: “en”} window.appId = ” /*–>*/
9:04 p.m. UTC
HOUSTON – Astros general manager Dana Brown assisted new manager Joe Espada in symbolically donning his No. 19 jersey at the start of a Monday morning news conference at Minute Maid Park and immediately noticed Espada’s 2022 World Series ring as he fastened the buttons.
“I like this ring,” Brown said.
“Let’s get another one,” Espada said.
Espada, who has served as a bench coach for the past six years and has interviewed for several managerial positions throughout his career, saw his patience rewarded when the Astros introduced him as the 20th full-time manager in club history. Espada replaces Dusty Baker, who retired last month after Houston was eliminated in seven games by the Rangers in the American League Championship Series.
“This is a very exciting day for me and my family,” said Espada, who repeatedly thanked his loved ones for their support. “I want to thank you [owner] Jim Crane and the Crane family for this incredible opportunity. That humbles me. This is a dream come true. I just can’t express how happy I am to stay home and lead this team.”
Crane made it clear that he wanted his first-year GM to select a manager he would be comfortable with. He didn’t have to look too far.
“This is probably one of my biggest hires in my career and it gives me a lot of excitement,” Brown said. “I appreciate Jim Crane allowing me to take the lead and I have continued to keep him updated on what my thought process was and where we are going in this direction.”
Espada, who learned Sunday he had the job, appears to have been the Astros’ top candidate all along given his popularity with players and his reputation as a great communicator. And with the Astros returning most of their key players from last season’s team that reached the ALCS for the seventh straight season, Espada’s emergence makes for a seamless transition.
The 48-year-old Espada was hired as replacement coach by AJ Hinch ahead of the 2018 season and has big shoes to fill. The Astros have appeared in the ALCS seven straight times, and the previous two managers – Hinch and Baker – won World Series titles in Houston.
“I had a front row seat to two incredible managers,” Espada said. “For the last four years I’ve worked for Dusty and watched him network and work, and to say I was the backup coach to a future Hall of Fame manager is incredible. “It’s an honor. And just watching him prepare, how he communicates, how much he cares about winning, how much he pushes the players in a good way – he really cares about the importance of communication and collaboration , and it allows us coaches to do our best job of getting the guys ready to play. I really appreciated this and think it will really help me in my next step.”
Espada wouldn’t say who will replace him as bench coach, although first base coach Omar Lopez is a strong candidate for the role. Most of the coaches on the team are under contract for next season, so with Espada at the helm there shouldn’t be much turnover in the team. For Espada it is a turnkey job.
“I’ve seen this team win a lot of games and I know what it takes to win,” Espada said. “I know how to push these players and when to push them. It is important. The players trust me, but trust has to be earned and it’s a two-way street. I think I’ve done a good job making sure these players know what’s important and I think that’s helped me be a good fit for this job.”
A native of Puerto Rico, Espada played in the minor leagues for ten seasons (1996-2005) after being selected in the second round of the 1996 MLB Draft by the University of Mobile A’s. As a player, he spent time in the Oakland, Florida, Colorado, Kansas City, St. Louis, Texas and Tampa Bay organizations, reaching Triple-A.
After retiring as a player, he coached in the Marlins system from 2006 to 2013 and joined the major league club as third base coach in 2010. He spent four seasons (2014-17) with the Yankees as a scout and third base coach (2015-17), then the Astros hired him days after their 2017 World Series win to replace backup coach Alex Cora, who took over the manager position in Boston.
“This is a very special place. It’s unique,” Espada said. “There is no place like this anywhere in professional sports and I’m just happy to be home.”