NEW YORK -- James Rowson, who developed a good relationship with Aaron Judge in the minor leagues, was hired Monday as the Yankees hitting coach after a season in which New York finished with the next-to-worst batting average in the major leagues.
Dillon Lawson was fired at the All-Star break after 1 1/2 seasons as hitting coach in New York's first in-season coaching change since Nardi Contreras replaced Billy Connors as pitching coach in July 1995. Lawson was replaced by Sean Casey, who decided he didn't want to return for 2024.
Rowson, 47, was the hitting coach of Class A Tampa in 2006 and '07 and was the Yankees minor league hitting coordinator from 2008-11 and 2014-16, the last three years as Judge worked his way up the farm system.