Four candidates have been selected as finalists to replace Rudy Jaramillo as the Rangers' hitting coach, and one was his pupil for nine seasons.
Rusty Greer, a Rangers Hall of Famer who worked with Jaramillo for nine seasons, made the final cut along with former big league hitting coaches Thad Bosley, Gerald Perry and Clint Hurdle.
The Rangers will conduct interviews Monday and make a decision later in the week. They started the process of trimming from a longer list of names earlier this week.
"We've had a chance to talk to a lot of good baseball people this week and heard a lot of good ideas," general manager Jon Daniels said. "I look at this as a rare chance to continue and, at the same time, improve upon what we do offensively."
Daniels and manager Ron Washington, assistant general manager Thad Levine and director of player development Scott Servais will conduct the interviews.
Washington coached Greer in the Arizona Fall League in 1993; Bosley and Perry were coaches with Washington in Oakland; and Hurdle was the manager and Washington the third-base coach for Triple A Tidewater in 1992.
Hurdle, who was fired as Colorado's manager this season, also knows Daniels, Levine and Servais from their time with the Rockies. In 2000, Hurdle was the hitting coach for Servais' final year in the big leagues.
"I've always followed Ron Washington," Hurdle said Thursday. "He's always been excited about the day. There was never a challenge that was too daunting that he wasn't looking forward to the challenge."
Greer is one of the most popular players in franchise history and a key cog in the Rangers' three playoff runs in the late 1990s. While he has no experience on the professional level as a hitting coach, Greer has spent the past few years working with hitters at Texas Wesleyan and helped hitters in the Texas Collegiate League.
The desire to teach is a characteristic the Rangers want in their new hitting coach. Hurdle said he rediscovered it the past four months while watching from outside the dugout.
"One of the passions that I was able to revisit in being removed from the game is there was no teaching going on," he said. "I've had a passion for that throughout my coaching career."
Briefly: Catcher Kevin Richardson was signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. He made his major league debut in August but was outrighted off the 40-man roster last week. ... Right-hander Tommy Hunter will be at the Sleep Experts store at I-20 and Matlock Road in Arlington from 4to 6 p.m. Monday to help collect blankets for the Share the Warmth Blanket Drive that benefits North Texas domestic violence shelters.
