Jason Bere has been hired as the Indians’ new bullpen coach, replacing Kevin Cash who was chosen to replace Joe Maddon as manager of the Tampa Bay Rays. This is Bere’s first foray into the coaching world, he has spent the past 9 years in the Indians’ baseball operations department. Prior to retiring, Bere spent 11 seasons as a pitcher with five different teams, including two separate stints with the Indians. Bere finished second in the 1993 Rookie of the Year vote and was named to the 1994 All-Star team.
In 2000, Bere came over with Bob Wickman and Steve Woodard from Milwaukee in exchange for Richie Sexson, Marco Scutaro, Kane Davis, and Paul Rigdon. Bere made 11 starts for the Tribe that season with an atrocious 6.63 ERA, but amazingly enough, he still managed to go 6-3. After two seasons with the Cubs, the Indians re-signed him for the 2003 season. Bere made just two starts that year, both no decisions, while posting a 4.05 ERA. Bere officially retired from playing in 2005 and was hired by the Indians as a special assistant, where he has been working in player development and instruction.
Bere’s familiarity with the current coaching staff will hopefully make for a smooth transition. Much has been written about Cash and his work with the Indians’ bullpen in 2014, most notably his work with Carlos Carrasco in his breakout campaign. Bere will look to continue upon the success of 2014’s bullpen, which finished 7th in the league in with a 3.12 ERA. Last year’s bullpen also pitched the 5th most innings in the league at 513.1. It would go a long way for the Indians success next season to have the bullpen’s workload cut down, or at the very least spread out, as workhorses Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw pitched a combined 146 of the 513.1 innings. In Kansas City this past season we all saw how important a dominant bullpen can be to a team’s playoff chances, hopefully Bere can help build something similar in Cleveland.
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