Blue Jays coach David Popkins was named Baseball America’s MLB Coach of the Year
Popkins joined the Jays last year after being let go by the Minnesota Twins during the 2024-25 offseason, a position he held for more than three years. Before coaching with the Twins, he was a hitting coach within the Dodgers system for several seasons and previously played minor league ball in the St. Louis Cardinals organization and some independent ball before retiring in 2017.
Brought the POP 💪 Hitting Coach David Popkins is Baseball America’s 2025 @MLB Coach of the Year!
The California product was a popular figure after parting ways with the Twins, with numerous organizations contacting the hitting coach before he decided to join the Jays. Under his guise, the Blue Jays ranked:
- First: hits (1461), batting average (.265), OBP (.333)
- Second: Strikeouts (1099)
- Third: doubles (294), RBIs (771), OPS (.760)
- Seventh: SLG (.427)
- Eighth: BABIP (.298)
Numerous players also had spectacular seasons with Popkins at the helm, most notably George Springer, who led the team in bWAR (4.8) and returned with an impressive .309/.399/.560 slash line with a .959 OPS while leading the team with his 32 home runs. Five players on the active roster had an OPS above .800, and before landing on the IL in September, Bo Bichette was on pace to lead the league in both hits and doubles.
Popkins’ mentality of increasing the Jays’ bat speed, getting on base in a timely manner, passing the bat around the lineup and letting hitters “do damage” led to a turnaround for a Jays team that struggled to find the barrel of the bat in 2024.
With his efforts and philosophies behind the scenes, the Blue Jays found themselves not only winning the AL East, but also advancing to the World Series.
PRESENTED BY VIVID CHAIRS
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