Why Hensley Meulens thinks he should be Yankees manager
Hensley Meulens
Hensley Meulens  spent eight seasons playing in the Yankees organization before  he  was released in 1993  a once highly touted prospect who never found success in the majors.
Now that  he  has a chance to come back to The Bronx as a manager   Meulens  believes those years with the organization will benefit  him .
âI was groomed to be a winner â  Meulens  said during a Thursday conference call following  his  interview. âEverything that was instilled in me  especially wining and becoming a true baseball player  I learned here. Iâve been away from here for over 24 years. Every time I go somewhere  people say  âYou used to play for the Yankees â¦â Growing up here was essential for me and the person I became and the way I learned to play the game.â
But that association alone wonât get  Meulens  the job â and thatâs where  he  hopes the rest of  his  rÃ©sumÃ© comes in.
The 50-year-old was the Giantsâ hitting coach for eight years before being named their bench coach following the 2017 season.  He  also managed the Netherlands in the last two World Baseball Classics  finishing fourth both times.
A native of Curacao   Meulens  has worked with Didi Gregorius frequently in recent offseasons â in addition to Gregorius playing for  Meulens  in the WBC earlier this year.
 He âs the third candidate to officially interview for the vacant Yankees managerial position  following bench coach Rob Thomson and former Indians and Mariners manager Eric Wedge.
 Meulens â history with the Yankees goes back over 30 years.  He  was signed by the Yankees in 1985 and made  his  MLB debut with them in 1989.
Since then   he  played with the Diamondbacks and Expos  as well as three seasons in Japan. And for the last 15 years   he âs been a coach.
 Meulens  pointed to the fact that  he âs played âall over the worldâ and was on a staff that won three World Series title in five seasons with the Giants.
More than that  though   he  is confident  he  checks some of the other boxes general manager Brian Cashman has mentioned in  his  search for Joe Girardiâs replacement â mostly when it comes to communication.
 Meulens  speaks five languages  but  he  insisted there was more to  his  communications skills than that.
âIâm a guy that likes going around the clubhouse  talking to guys and finding out how guys are feeling so I have an understanding of whatâs going on ââ  Meulens  said. âYou have to understand as a coach  youâre kind of a psychologist at the same time.â
âThe managers that are having success  that want to have success  theyâve got to [get] up to speed with that kind of stuff because itâs facts â  Meulens  said.
âNow that a spot is open  of course this is a place where I want to come back â  Meulens  said. âThis is where I grew up. My first crack at being a major leaguer was here. â¦ A lot of my history goes back here  and I think they would welcome me back into this environment.ââ
[TGT] spent eight seasons playing in the Yankees organization before   [TGT]   was released in 1993  a once highly touted prospect who never found success in the majors.
Now that   [TGT]   has a chance to come back to The Bronx as a manager   Meulens  believes those years with the organization will benefit   [TGT]  .
âI was groomed to be a winner â  Meulens  said during a Thursday conference call following  his  interview. âEverything that was instilled in me  especially wining and becoming a true baseball player  I learned here. Iâve been away from here for over 24 years. Every time I go somewhere  people say  âYou used to play for the Yankees â¦â Growing up here was essential for me and the person I became and the way I learned to play the game.â
But that association alone wonât get  Meulens  the job â and thatâs where  he  hopes the rest of  his  rÃ©sumÃ© comes in.
The 50-year-old was the Giantsâ hitting coach for eight years before being named their bench coach following the 2017 season.  He  also managed the Netherlands in the last two World Baseball Classics  finishing fourth both times.
A native of Curacao   Meulens  has worked with Didi Gregorius frequently in recent offseasons â in addition to Gregorius playing for  Meulens  in the WBC earlier this year.
 He âs the third candidate to officially interview for the vacant Yankees managerial position  following bench coach Rob Thomson and former Indians and Mariners manager Eric Wedge.
 Meulens â history with the Yankees goes back over 30 years.  He  was signed by the Yankees in 1985 and made  his  MLB debut with them in 1989.
Since then   he  played with the Diamondbacks and Expos  as well as three seasons in Japan. And for the last 15 years   he âs been a coach.
 Meulens  pointed to the fact that  he âs played âall over the worldâ and was on a staff that won three World Series title in five seasons with the Giants.
More than that  though   he  is confident  he  checks some of the other boxes general manager Brian Cashman has mentioned in  his  search for Joe Girardiâs replacement â mostly when it comes to communication.
 Meulens  speaks five languages  but  he  insisted there was more to  his  communications skills than that.
âIâm a guy that likes going around the clubhouse  talking to guys and finding out how guys are feeling so I have an understanding of whatâs going on ââ  Meulens  said. âYou have to understand as a coach  youâre kind of a psychologist at the same time.â
âThe managers that are having success  that want to have success  theyâve got to [get] up to speed with that kind of stuff because itâs facts â  Meulens  said.
âNow that a spot is open  of course this is a place where I want to come back â  Meulens  said. âThis is where I grew up. My first crack at being a major leaguer was here. â¦ A lot of my history goes back here  and I think they would welcome me back into this environment.ââ