Ruben Amaro Jr. set to become Boston's first base coach

On September 10th, the Phillies formally fired Ruben Amaro Jr., a move that nearly everyone in the industry was expecting. However on October 24th, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported that Amaro was set to join the Red Sox, but as a first base coach rather than as a front office executive.

Initially, there was almost a universal response of confusion as to why someone who had spent nearly two decades in the front office would transition to a coaching position, but that disappeared once it was learned that Amaro might have his sights set on managing a team.

In a conference call earlier today, Amaro acknowledged the strangeness of the situation.

"I guess it's unusual, but for me, I've always had kind of an itch to be back on the field." He reached out to "a whole slew of people. At the end of the day, I felt like this opportunity doesn't arrive all that often. I've been thinking about getting back on the field in some capacity. My current goal is to help the Red Sox get to be where they need to be."

In addition to being the first base coach, Amaro is also set to help out with batting practice, as he possesses a skill that not many people in baseball can boast. According to Jon Morosi, Amaro "is ambidextrous and will throw batting practice for the Red Sox both right- and left-handed."

Amaro is just 50 years old, and with eight years in the big leagues, and 17 as a front office executive, he could be well on his way to having a career as a manager.