Former major league outfielder Gary Thurman has joined the Marlins coaching staff. Thurman was named the team's "first base/outfield/baserunning"coach as the Marlins formally announced their on-field staff to serve under new manager Ozzie Guillen.
Thurman, 46, spent nine seasons (1989-97) in the majors with the Royals, Tigers, Mariners and Mets. He spent the past four seasons as a coach in the Indians minor-league system. Before that, he worked in the Seattle organization, mostly at the minor league level. His only previous coaching stint in the majors came with Seattle in 2007 when he was the Mariners' first base coach.
Thurman is one of two newcomers to the Marlins' coaching staff. The other is bench coach Joey Cora, who worked with Guillen with the White Sox. Coaching holdovers for the Marlins are pitching coach Randy St. Claire, hitting coach Eduardo Perez, third base coach Joe Espada and bullpen coach Reid Cornelius.
Not returning are first base/infield coach Perry Hill and bench coach Brandon Hyde. Cora will assume Hill's infield coaching duties.
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-- Emilio Bonifacio drove in two runs with a single and was on board, along with Marlins teammate Logan Morrison, when Curtis Granderson connected on a grand slam as a team of U.S. stars defeated the Chinese Taipei national team, 7-0. Bonifacio and Morrison made the trip to Taiwan to play for the U.S. in the five-game series.
