Milwaukee Brewers Announce Nashville Sounds 2023 Coaching Staff

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The Milwaukee Brewers have announced the Nashville Sounds coaching staff for the 2023 season. The staff will be led by Manager Rick Sweet, marking his fourth overall season (third consecutive) as skipper of the Sounds.

Sweet will be accompanied by Hitting Coach Al LeBoeuf, Pitching Coach Jeremy Accardo, Coach Ned Yost IV, Coach Liu Rodriguez, Bullpen Coach Patrick McGuff, Athletic Trainer Jeff Paxson, Assistant Athletic Trainer Jon Harris, Strength & Conditioning Specialist Andrew Emmick and Assistant Strength & Conditioning Specialist Jonathan Christensen.

Sweet, 70, returns to the Sounds after leading the team to 91 wins in 2022, the second-most in team history and the only team in Minor League Baseball to surpass 90 wins. The 2023 season represents his 10th year managing in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. In three seasons managing Nashville (2014, 2021-22), Sweet has compiled a 238-183 record. Following the 2022 season, he was honored with the Mike Coolbaugh Award and International League Manager of the Year.

Sweet has served as Milwaukee’s Triple-A Manager for the previous eight seasons. He has posted a 600-518 (.537) record during that timeframe. In 32 years as a minor league manager, he has a 2,192-2,038 (.518) record. His 2,192 wins are the fifth-most all time in Minor League Baseball history.

A former catcher, Sweet had a nine-year playing career (1975-83), including time in the big leagues with San Diego (1978), New York-NL (1982) and Seattle (1982-83). He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 31st round of the 1974 MLB Amateur Draft but did not sign, and by the San Diego Padres in the 3rd round of the 1975 MLB Amateur Draft. He attended and played college baseball at Gonzaga University from 1973-75.

LeBoeuf, who turns 64 on Saturday, returns to Nashville for the third consecutive season as the team’s hitting coach. He also held the same position with the Sounds for the 2012 campaign. Under LeBoeuf’s guidance, the Sounds set a franchise record with 809 runs scored in 2022.

Accardo, 41, returns to the Sounds as pitching coach after spending the 2022 season in the same capacity. The Sounds compiled a 4.02 ERA in 2022 – the second lowest in Triple-A Baseball. Prior to joining the Milwaukee organization, Accardo served as the assistant pitching coach for the New York Mets during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Yost IV, 40, returns for his third consecutive season as a coach for the Sounds. The 2023 season is his 16th year in the Brewers organization. He played in Milwaukee’s minor league system from 2005-07 and has held various coaching roles since 2008, including short-season Helena (2008-11), Advanced-A Brevard County (2012-16), Triple-A Colorado Springs (2017-18) and Triple-A San Antonio (2019).

Rodriguez, 46, joins the coaching staff after spending the 2022 season with Single-A Wisconsin. Entering his 10th year in the Brewers organization, Rodriguez has had coaching stops with the Arizona League Brewers (2014), Single-A Wisconsin (2015/22), short-season Helena (2016-18) and Low-A Carolina (2019). The Venezuela native managed Arizona League Brewers Gold in 2019 and was named the manager for short-season Rocky Mountain in 2020 before the season was cancelled.

McGuff, 28, joins the staff for the first time. In his second season with the Brewers organization, McGuff was a development coach with Single-A Wisconsin in 2022. He served as an assistant coach with USC Upstate from 2019-22. Paxson, 53, returns to the Sounds as the team’s athletic trainer after spending 2022 in the same role. He was also Nashville’s athletic trainer for five years from 2005-2009. This is his 29th season in the Brewers organization.

Harris, 26, comes to Nashville after serving as an associate athletic trainer with the Dominican Summer League Brewers in 2022. Emmick, 41, also returns to Nashville as the team’s strength and conditioning specialist for the third straight season. Emmick spent five seasons with the Sounds from 2010-14 during the previous Milwaukee affiliation. The Kentucky native enters his 15th year in the Brewers organization. Christensen, 27, joins the Sounds after spending 2022 with the Single-A Greenville in the Red Sox organization.

The Sounds season begins on Friday, March 31 when they kickoff a three-game series against the Louisville Bats at First Horizon Park.

Steven Boero
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