About Bruce
Bruce Walton is a
professional baseball coach. He has over 18 years of coaching experience,
11 years at the Major League level. He
has coached and mentored such pitchers as Roy Halladay, Pat Hentgen and Chris
Carpenter, all Cy Young Award winners.
Bruce was born and raised in Bakersfield, California. He played high school baseball at North High and collegiate baseball at the University of Hawaii. The Oakland Athletics drafted Bruce in the 16th round of the 1985 MLB June Amateur Draft. He played 8 years at all minor league levels, making his Major League Baseball debut on May 11, 1991 in Yankee Stadium. He pitched in the Major Leagues from 1991 to 1995 for the Oakland A’s, Montreal Expos and Colorado Rockies. Bruce began his professional coaching career in Alberta in 1996, working for the Toronto Blue Jays organization as the Pitching Coach for the Medicine Hat Blue Jays. The following year, he assumed duties as Pitching Coach for the Hagerstown Suns of the South Atlantic League. In 1998, Bruce was promoted to Minor League Pitching Coordinator, a position he held until June 7, 2002 when he was named the Bullpen Coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. He held that job for 8 years. In 2010, Bruce was promoted to Pitching Coach under Cito Gaston. He worked for 3 years as the Toronto Blue Jays Pitching Coach. Bruce concluded his career with the Blue Jays in 2013, after 18 years with the organization. Bruce then went on to work for the Chicago Cubs organization, serving as Pitching Coach of the Iowa Cubs, Chicago’s AAA affiliate, for the 2014 season. He retired from professional baseball at the end of the 2014 season. Bruce is passionate about baseball. He loves the game, and the mechanical and mental aspects of pitching. He had a long and rewarding career coaching at the top of his game. He resides in Calgary and is now available to share with you all the knowledge and experiences he has gathered from all his years playing and coaching professional baseball. |
Experience2013-2014
Pitching Coach, Iowa Cubs, Chicago Cubs AAA Affiliate 2010-2012 Pitching Coach, Toronto Blue Jays (American League East) 2002-2009 Bullpen Coach, Toronto Blue Jays (American League East) 1998-2002 Minor League Pitching Coordinator, Toronto Blue Jays 1997 Pitching Coach, Hagerstown Suns, Toronto Blue Jays A Affiliate (South Atlantic League) 1996 Pitching Coach, Medicine Hat Blue Jays, Toronto Blue Jays Rookie A Affiliate (Pioneer League and Extended Spring) REFERENCES Presidents: Paul Beeston General Managers: Gord Ash, JP Ricciardi, Alex Anthopoulos, Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer Managers: Tony La Russa, Clint Hurdle, Carlos Tosca, John Gibbons, Cito Gaston, John Farrell, Don Wakamatsu |