John A. Narron, Jr. (born November 13, 1951) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He is the

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

, the High-A affiliate of the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. He is a former hitting coach of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

and former assistant hitting coach of the Texas Rangers of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). He was a confidant and friend of center fielder

Josh Hamilton Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers teams that won two consecutive Americ ...

and temporarily acted as an "

accountability partner An accountability partner is someone who supports another person to keep a commitment or maintain progress on a desired goal. They will often be a trusted friend or acquaintance who will regularly ask an individual about their progress or receive ...

" to help Hamilton in his recovery from drug addiction. The native of Goldsboro, North Carolina was a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...

in the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

systems of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

in 1974 and 1975. He is the brother of former Rangers and Reds manager

Jerry Narron Jerry Austin Narron (born January 15, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager, coach, and former player. He most recently served as a major league instructor for the Chicago White Sox. He most recently served as the bench coach for th ...

, who served as the

bench coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the Brewers from 2011-2015. His late uncle Sam Narron was a catcher for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

and a longtime coach with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

Minor League Experience

Narron played for Johnston City, a Rookie affiliate of the

during the year of 1974. He held a career best .272 batting average for Johnston City with 54 RBIs and 15 HRs. He then went on to play for the low A affiliate of the

Appleton Appleton may refer to: People *Appleton (surname) Places Australia * Appleton Dock Canada * Appleton, Newfoundland and Labrador * Appleton, Ontario United Kingdom * Appleton, a deserted medieval village site in the parish of Flitcham w ...

. Here he posted an .228 batting average with 57 RBIs and 6 HRs.

Coaching career

Narron spent 2007 with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

organization as the Reds' Major League Video/Administrative Coach. Narron spent four seasons as a coach in the farm system for the Brewers, including stints as hitting coach and manager at rookie-level

Helena Brewers The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwaukee ...

, in 2003, 2004 and 2006. Narron was

's off-field coach for five seasons. He served as an accountability partner for Hamilton, helping him stay free from his addiction to drugs and alcohol. At age 60, Narron was hoping for a more promising job and that came true in 2012 when Narron was offered the job to become the next

hitting coach. Hamilton was supportive of Narron in his decision to move on with his career, saying "Johnny is very talented and has helped me tremendously, both personally and professionally. He is fulfilling a dream to be a Major League batting coach, and I have told him previously I would never stand in his way from doing that. We will stay in touch, and I wish him great success with the Brewers." Narron was not retained by the Brewers after the 2014 season and was hired soon thereafter by the Angels organization.

References

External links

Rangers.com coach page
: {{DEFAULTSORT:Narron, Johhny 1951 births Living people People from Goldsboro, North Carolina Baseball coaches from North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Major League Baseball hitting coaches Cincinnati Reds coaches Texas Rangers coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches East Carolina Pirates baseball players Appleton Foxes players Johnson City Yankees players Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers