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Four finalists to be the Texas Rangers’ hitting coach were interviewed Monday in Arlington, and chances are good that one will be hired this afternoon to replace Rudy Jaramillo.
General manager Jon Daniels led a group of five who conducted interviews with Rusty Greer, Clint Hurdle, Thad Bosley and Gerald Perry. All but Greer has been a big-league hitting coach during his career.But his lack of experience as an instructor at baseball’s top level doesn’t appear to be working against him. General manager Jon Daniels said all four candidates are a fit for the job, and a tough decision awaits Rangers brass."Across the board, each of the guys is very qualified for the job," Daniels said. "From a philosophy standpoint, they’re all very much in tune with what we’re looking for as far as a team-first approach."Team president Nolan Ryan, manager Ron Washington, assistant general manager Thad Levine and director of player development Scott Servais joined Daniels in the interviews of a group of candidates who were hardly strangers.Washington has ties to all four, dating to 1992 when he was the third-base coach for Triple-A Tidewater. Hurdle was the manager. Washington knows Greer, the Rangers Hall of Fame member, from the Arizona Fall League a year later.Bosley and Perry were hitting coaches in Oakland during Washington’s long stay there before becoming Rangers manager. He seemed to enjoy the reunions Monday."All four of them were outstanding," Washington said. "We have our work cut out for us. We really do."It’s been almost three weeks since Jaramillo decided not to return for a 16th season, and two weeks since he signed a three-year deal with the Chicago Cubs. The process of finding his replacement will continue today, and possibly end today, too."We’re going to sleep on it and make an offer to the guy we feel is the best fit for us," Daniels said. "We’ll probably discuss it internally, and there’s a decent chance we’ll make an offer [today]."Jeff Wilson, 817-390-7760
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