Phillies, Bullpen Coach Jim Gott part ways after 3 seasons

Phillies bullpen coach Jim Gott will not return for the 2021 season

The Philadelphia Phillies will have another key vacancy to address this offseason, in addition to general manager and pitching coach to replace Matt Klentak and Bryan Price, respectively.

Bullpen coach Jim Gott, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury, will not have his contract renewed for the 2021 season.

Gott, 61, was named Phillies bullpen coach shortly following the 2017 season. It was his first major league coaching assignment, as he sent the previous eight years in the Los Angeles Angels organization as minor-league pitching coordinator (2013-17) and pitching coach for the Arizona League Angels (2010-12).

As a player, Gott pitched in parts of 14 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays (1982-84), San Francisco Giants (1985-87), Pittsburgh Pirates (1987-89; 95), and Los Angeles Dodgers (1990-94).

Overall, spanning 554 career games, he posted a 56-74 record with a 3.87 ERA and 91 saves.

Gott has two notable career moments, the first being that he earned his first MLB win against future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer; the game, coincidentally, was the first of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken‘s MLB-record consecutive games played streak. The second is that Gott helped trained actor Dennis Quaid for his role as a former major league pitcher in the Disney movie The Rookie.

With both their pitching coach and bullpen coach roles open, it is not clear how the Phillies will move forward. Assistant Pitching Coach Dave Lundquist could be a candidate to assume a full-time role; perhaps, even both as the Phillies continue to reconfigure their organization amid decreased revenues due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Salisbury describes Gott as being well-liked by pitchers and “just about everyone else in baseball.” Salisbury continues that Gott was “perpetually upbeat and positive,” even during the difficult 2020 season with the Phillies pitchers posted a near-all-time-worst bullpen ERA.

Gott’s departure is the latest in a slew of changes for the Phils after a disappointing finish to the 2020 season.