Guy Hansen returns to coach in Richmond

Guy Hansen is back in the Braves' organization. The Braves Show's Bill Shanks has more.

The Atlanta Braves will soon announce the minor league coaching roster for next season, and there will be a familiar name on the list for Richmond.

Guy Hansen, who was with the Braves for seven years between 1998-2004, will return to Richmond as the pitching coach in 2007. Hansen has spent the last two seasons with the Kansas City Royals.

“Coming back to the Braves, I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Hansen said. “My whole family just feels so much better coming back. It was a two-year hiatus with an impossible gig. Just to come back to the Braves is a real blessing. I feel real fortunate.”

Hansen left the Braves two years ago to become the Royals' major league pitching coach. He lasted only one season before he was replaced by new Manager Buddy Bell. Last year Hansen was a pitching consultant to Royals' GM Allard Baird, who was replaced this past June by former Braves' executive Dayton Moore.

A former star pitcher at UCLA, Hansen has a long association with Braves' GM John Schuerholz. The Royals drafted Hansen in the 44th round of the 1969 draft. He played four seasons in the Royals' minor league system, which at that time was led by Schuerholz.

After his playing career was over, Hansen coached at Pepperdine and at UCLA. Then he became a scout with the MLB Scouting Bureau from 1976-1980. Hansen became an area scout and minor league coach for Kansas City in 1981. As a scout, he signed Bret Saberhagen, Kevin Appier, Cecil Fielder, and Jeff Conine.

Hansen was the major league pitching coach with the Royals from 1991-1993 and then the bullpen coach in 1996 and 1997. In 1998 he reunited with Schuerholz and became a special assistant for pitching in the Braves' minor league system. He was previously in Richmond from 2001-2004.



Bill Shanks is the author of Scout's Honor: The Bravest Way To Build A Winning Team, a look inside the Braves‘ traditional scouting and player development philosophies. He can also be heard regularly on the Braves Radio Network. Email Bill at .