The New York Mets continue to round out their coaching staff, hiring Tim Leiper to be their third base coach, replacing Mike Sarbaugh.
Leiper, whose most recent coaching job came as the San Diego Padres
third base coach last season, has a wealth of experience in baseball.
The California native’s baseball career began as a longtime minor leaguer, playing in 1,166 games across 12 seasons (including two stints with the Mets), from 1985-1996. He had a solid career as organizational depth, hitting .273/.337/.365, with 40 home runs and 460 RBI.
He only played six games for the (then) Binghamton Mets in 1996, but transitioned into a coaching role that season, beginning his post-playing career. He coached in various roles in the minor leagues until 2000, where he became a minor league manager in the Montreal Expos organization.
He spent the next 10 seasons managing minor league teams in the Expos, Red Sox, Orioles, Pirates, and Marlins organizations, including winning the 2010 Southern League with the Double-A Jacksonville Suns, a Marlins affiliate.
The next few years saw him move to a more developmental role in the Marlins and Blue Jays organizations, including being a senior advisor for player development for Toronto. In 2014, he finally made his Major League debut, as John Gibbon’s first base coach (ironic, considering Gibbons had just left the Mets this offseason). He stayed in the role until 2018.
He made his return to the Major Leagues last season, as the Padres third base coach.
Not only does Leiper have a wealth of experience in both Major and minor league baseball, he also has a ton of experience in international baseball as well. A mainstay in Canadian baseball, he has coached different Canadian teams, from the 2004 Olympics to three different World Baseball Classics and in Pan American tournaments as well.
Leiper will look to bring that vast experience to the Mets dugout, as the organization has reshaped the coaching staff behind Carlos Mendoza.
