Dream fulfilled: Tommy Kawamura makes jump to Astros' game-planning coach
Tommy Kawamura makes the rounds during one of the first days of Astros spring training at West Palm Beach, Fla. Having earned a mathematics and economics degree while playing four seasons at Division III Willamette University, Kawmura parlayed his analytical background into a career in professional baseball and is Houston's new game-planning coach.WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The new coach needs no introduction.
Kawamura is the only new member of the Astros’ major league coaching staff. His background and title epitomize the sport’s shifting staff-building dynamics. Only a handful of other teams employ a game-planning coach. The Los Angeles Dodgers had one before restructuring their staff this winter. Former major league catcher Jason Varitek still holds a similar title for the Boston Red Sox.
“The inspiration was it might be nice to have that person be more accessible, potentially in-game to be a little closer to the field so they don’t have to walk back into the clubhouse,” Kawamura said. “It was kind of a long road. It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. I had expressed that I wanted to try coaching again.”
Kawamura never had any illusion he’d play professionally. He earned a mathematics and economics degree and learned to write code, giving him a perfect skill set for baseball's analytics movement. The New York Mets hired him as an advance scouting intern in 2015.
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