TORONTO BLUE JAYS HIRE FORMER WILD THING AS HITTING COACH

TORONTO - On Monday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that former Washington Wild Thing David Popkins was hired as the team's new hitting coach.

Popkins broke into professional baseball after two years at the University of California-Davis in 2012, signing with the St. Louis Cardinals organization and eventually reaching Double-A Springfield.

Popkins then signed with the Wild Things in 2015 and impressed in his rookie season, hitting 20 home runs while slugging .505. He followed up his solid first season by hitting another 15 home runs in 2016 and being named as a Frontier League All-Star. 

After his playing days, Popkins worked as a hitting coach and was eventually hired by the Minnesota Twins in 2021. Under his direction, the Twins hit 233 home runs and had a .753 OPS in 2023, which ranked third and seventh respectively in Major League Baseball that season. 

Blue Jays Manager John Schneider commented on Pokins' potential impact, saying "He's a true expert in all types of hitting information and will help our offensive strategy for each game. We're looking forward to the instant impact of his relentless work ethic."