Wilkerson back in MLB with Yankees
Jan. 31—Brad Wilkerson is back in the big leagues.
The former Apollo High School and University of Florida baseball star, who spent eight seasons in the major leagues as a player, has been named assistant hitting coach for the 27-time world champion New York Yankees.
"I'm excited about the opportunity," said Wilkerson, 45, who for the past two seasons has been an assistant baseball coach at Jacksonville University in Florida. "The Yankees' history speaks for itself, and I look forward to bringing in the knowledge I have gained throughout my baseball career — working with guys who want to be the best they can be.
"There will be every resource imaginable for the Yankees to win another World Series, and I will do everything on my end to make it happen — I'm just really looking forward to it."
Wilkerson believes hitting is equal parts mind and body.
"I've done my best to stay up to date with new things involved with hitting," Wilkerson said, "but in a lot of ways, hitting is hitting. The physical side is important, but in my view, the mental side is equally important. You have to have a sharp mind and you have to step to the plate with the right approach and confidence to be successful."
Wilkerson reached an agreement with the Yankees late last week, after speaking with manager Aaron Boone, hitting coach Dillon Lawson, a former star at Transylvania University in Lexington, and the team's other assistant hitting coach, Casey Dykes, a former star at Western Kentucky University.
"It happened pretty quickly once it got rolling," said Wilkerson, who was originally contacted by Omar Minaya, general manager of the Montreal Expos when Wilkerson played north of the border in the early 2000s. "That's the way these things tend to work."
Prior to coaching at JU, Wilkerson spent five seasons as head coach at The King's Academy High School in West Palm Beach, Florida. He also coached the Orlando Scorpions, a high-level travel ball team.
Wilkerson remains a legendary figure in Owensboro, where he proved to be a superb all-around athlete in baseball, basketball, soccer and football (kicker).
He led Owensboro Southern's All-Stars to the Bambino League World Series as a 12-year-old in 1989, before embarking on an extraordinary high school career at Apollo. There, as a pitcher-outfielder, he led the Eagles baseball team to the KHSAA state final four as a junior in 1994, and was selected as both an All-American and Kentucky Mr. Baseball as a senior in 1995. He is, of course, a member of the Apollo High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Also in 1995, he won a gold medal as a member of the World Junior Baseball Championship winning team.
Wilkerson was no less sensational at the University of Florida, where, as a junior in 1998, he won two national collegiate player of the year awards.
As a true freshman in 1996, he belted a dramatic grand slam to beat the Gators' arch-rival, Florida State, in the College World Series. As a junior in 1998, he became the first player in collegiate player in history to hit 20 home runs, steal 20 bases and win 10 games as a pitcher in the same year — again, helping Florida advance to the CWS.
Wilkerson holds a number of UF season and career school records, including career batting average (.381), career slugging percentage (.714) and career on-base percentage (.531). He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2010, and the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.
A 1998 first-round (supplemental) selection by the Expos, Wilkerson played parts of eight Major League Baseball seasons with the Expos/Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays.
In 2000, he was starting center fielder for the United States' gold-medal-winning Olympic team in Sydney, Australia.
In 2002, he was named National League Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News, after setting an Expos rookie record with 20 home runs. He hit the last home run in Expos history in 2004, when he enjoyed his best big league season (32 homers, 39 doubles, 112 runs scored). He finished his MLB career with 122 home runs, 399 RBIs and a .247 batting average — twice hitting for the cycle.
Wilkerson will be a uniform-wearing member on the New York Yankees bench.
"I'm pretty sure I won't be wearing 99 (worn by Yankee superstar Aaron Judge)," Wilkerson quipped, when asked if he had been assigned a uniform number by the historic franchise. "Maybe I'll call (Yankee great) Don Mattingly (an Evansville native) and see if he'll let me wear No. 23."
