Milwaukee Brewers Announce 2021 Triple-A Coaching Staff

The Milwaukee Brewers announced today their 2021 Minor League Baseball coaching staffs, including the Triple-A level, which is expected to be the Nashville Sounds. As previously announced, the Sounds have been invited to be Milwaukee’s top affiliate as part of Major League Baseball’s reorganization of the minor leagues, a process that is expected to be finalized next month.

Rick Sweet will be the manager of the Nashville Sounds for the 2021 season. Sweet is joined by pitching coach Jim Henderson, hitting coach Al LeBoeuf, coach Ned Yost IV, athletic trainer Lanning Tucker and strength and conditioning specialist Andrew Emmick.

Sweet, 68, returns to the Sounds seven years after he managed the club for the first time in 2014. He becomes the third person in team history to be appointed manager multiple times, joining George Scherger (1978, 1988) and Trent Jewett (1998-2000, 2003-04). He led the Sounds to a 77-67 record in 2014.

Since 2014, Sweet has served as the manager for Milwaukee’s Triple-A club. He managed the Colorado Springs Sky Sox from 2015-18 and the San Antonio Missions in 2019. He was scheduled to manage the Missions in 2020 prior to the Minor League Baseball season being cancelled. During his tenure with Milwaukee, Sweet has compiled a managerial record of 439-402-1 (.521). In 30 years as a minor league manager, Sweet has amassed 2,031 wins, the 11th-most all-time.

Sweet has garnered multiple awards including Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year in 1994, International League Manager of the Year in 2008 and 2009, and Baseball America’s Manager of the Year in 2010.

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.

Henderson, 38, returns to Nashville for his first season as pitching coach for the Sounds. The right-hander pitched professionally for 14 seasons, including parts of three with Nashville (2011-12, 2014).

The Canadian enters his fourth year as a coach in the Milwaukee organization. He assisted in Milwaukee’s scouting department and was short-season Helena’s bullpen coach in 2018, was the pitching coach for Single-A Wisconsin in 2019 and was scheduled to be the pitching coach for Triple-A San Antonio in 2020 prior the season being cancelled.

Henderson pitched in the big leagues for the Brewers (2012-14) and New York Mets (2016) and compiled a 10-11 record with a 3.61 ERA in 155 career games. Over his three-year stint as a player with Nashville, he appeared in 58 games and was a 2012 Pacific Coast League All-Star.

Henderson represented Team Canada in the 2011 Pan American Games, where he won a gold medal. He also represented his country in the World Baseball Classic in 2013 and 2017. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 26th round of the 2003 MLB Amateur Draft out of Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, Tennessee.

LeBoeuf, 61, also returns to Nashville for his second stint on the Sounds coaching staff. He will serve as the team’s hitting coach, the same position he held with Nashville in 2012.

2021 is his 12th year in the Milwaukee organization and 34th as a coach in professional baseball. LeBoeuf has previously held positions within the Brewers organization at Double-A Huntsville (2010-11), Nashville (2012), Single-A Wisconsin (2016), Triple-A Colorado Springs (2017), Double-A Biloxi (2018) and Triple-A San Antonio (2019). He was also slated to be a member of San Antonio’s staff in 2020 prior to the pandemic.

LeBoeuf’s coaching career began in 1988 when he was a player-coach for Double-A Reading. He was a full-time coach within the Philadelphia organization from 1989-2000, including stops as a manager for short-season Batavia (1993-95), Advanced-A Clearwater (1996) and Double-A Reading (1997-98). He compiled a managerial record of 324-322 in those six seasons.

LeBoeuf played eight professional seasons in the Philadelphia organization from 1981-88. He was drafted in the 28th round of the 1981 June Amateur Draft out of Eastern Connecticut State University.

Yost IV, 38, begins his 14th year in the Brewers organization, and first as a coach with the Sounds. 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).

Yost was also slated to be on San Antonio’s staff in 2020 prior the season being cancelled. He is the son of former Brewers manager Ned Yost.

Tucker, 55, begins his first season as the athletic trainer for the Sounds. He joined the Brewers organization prior to the 2020 season and was scheduled to be Triple-A San Antonio’s athletic trainer.

The Texas native worked in the Minnesota Twins organization from 1992-2017. He worked at various levels in the Twins minor league system, including as the organization’s head minor league athletic trainer and rehab coordinator from 1999-2012. He was the assistant athletic trainer and rehab coordinator on the Twins major league staff from 2013-17.

Emmick, 39, also returns to Nashville as the team’s strength and conditioning specialist after spending five seasons with the Sounds from 2010-14 during the previous Milwaukee affiliation.

The Kentucky native enters his 13th year in the Brewers organization and previously held the same position with Double-A Huntsville (2009), Triple-A Colorado Springs (2015-18) and Triple-A San Antonio (2019).

The Nashville Sounds play at First Horizon Park. For more information on 2021 Season Ticket Memberships, call 615-690-4487, or e-mail [email protected].