The Arizona State Sun Devils will be adding former Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller to their coaching staff, as a hitting coach.
Mueller proved to be instrumental to the Red Sox during his three-year tenure with the club, as he joins former major leaguer Willie Bloomquist, who was hired earlier this month to be the head coach of Dustin Pedroia’s alma mater.
The third baseman has some coaching experience, as he has spent time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals as the hitting coach.
The 50-year-old spent 10 seasons in the Majors, three of which were with the Red Sox (2003-2005). Mueller won the AL batting title (having the highest batting average in your respective league) in his first season with the club, hitting a career-high .326 to go along with his career-high 19 homers and 85 RBIs, tallying an OPS of .938 and a wRC+ of 145.
The corner infielder has had also tenures with the Giants and Cubs, and spent his final season with the Dodgers in 2006. In his three seasons with Boston, the switch-hitter slashed .303/.378/.474, crushing 19 homers while driving in 204 RBIs amounting to a 123 wRC+ through 406 games.
Despite having a career season in 2003, his most memorable moment as a Red Sox came in 2004. With the Red Sox down 3-0 in the ALCS, they were down 4-3 in Game 4. Facing Mariano Rivera, Mueller drove in Dave Roberts with a clutch, game-tying RBI single to send it to extras.
(Photo: Bill Mueller throws out the first pitch in Game 6 of the 2013 ALCS between the Red Sox and Tigers/Al Bello/Getty Images)