Jim Leyritiz is getting another shot in baseball.
Though he was primarily a catcher in the major leagues, the former New York Yankees World Series hero is the new pitching coach for the minor league Newark Bears.
Recently acquitted on a DUI manslaughter charge stemming from a fatal 2007 car accident, Leyritz will take over the pitching staff of the Can-Am League team for which he once played. The team is managed by Tim Raines, his former Yankees teammate.
"The last three years have been very frustrating for me," Leyritz said. "But I've now put everything behind me and I'm moving forward with my career in baseball. It's an exciting new beginning for me and I'm doing what I love to do."
Leyritz played nearly nine years in the majors, breaking in with the Yankees in 1990. He caught, played first base, third base and the outfield.
"We're confident that he will have a positive impact," Bears owner Thomas Cetnar said, "both on and off the field."
Leyritz was sentenced day to one year's probation and fined $500 for a drunken driving conviction, a far lesser penalty than he had faced before a jury decided he wasn't responsible for a 30-year-old woman's death in the 2007 crash.
Leyritz feels grateful for a second chance in what he calls "a league of second chances."
"I'm fortunate," Leyritz said. "It's something I've wanted to do for a very long time. I'm looking forward to getting the same break as a lot of the players in independent baseball, getting one more chance."
Leyritz is best known for his three-run homer off Atlanta's Mark Wohlers in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series. The shot turned the tide of the series and enabled New York to win in six games.
Leyritz played 19 games with the Bears in 2001, hitting four homers and driving in 15 while batting .296. He signed with the San Diego Padres after his stint in Newark.
In first reporting the agreement, the Newark Star-Ledger said that Leyritz would also serve as hitting coach, but the team said he only will be the pitching coach.
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