Former Met Ed Lynch resigns as Ducks pitching coach
Mets catcher Gary Carter, left, congratulates pitcher Ed Lynch after Lynch threw a 4-0 shutout against the Braves at Shea Stadium on May 9, 1985.at left. Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Bill Kostrun
Former Mets pitcher Ed Lynch has stepped down as Ducks pitching coach after spending the first two months of the season in that role, the team announced Tuesday. Long time minor league coach Rick Tomlin, who spent time coaching in both the Mets and Yankees systems, was named as Lynch’s replacement.
Lynch, 63, stepped down to ‘spend more time with his family,’ the team said.
“We spoke with Ed after Sunday’s game and this was the direction he decided to go in,” Ducks president and general manager Michael Pfaff told Newsday Tuesday afternoon. “…We were grateful that Ed was part of the staff for the first few months of the season and wish him nothing but the best.”
Despite losing nine pitchers to other professional organizations since the beginning of spring training, Lynch’s staff led the Atlantic League in strikeouts (459) and ranked second in ERA (3.74). Entering Tuesday night’s game against the New Britain Bees, the Ducks held a 1 ½ game lead over the Somerset Patriots in the Liberty Division first-half race with 14 games left. The winner of the first half earns an automatic berth in the postseason.
Prior to accepting the Ducks job, Lynch has never been a pitching coach at the professional level. He pitched eight seasons in the big leagues, mostly with the Mets and then the Cubs. He was the Cubs’ general manager from 1994-2000, director of player development with the Padres, special assistant to the GM for the Mets and Cubs, and, most recently, a scout for the Blue Jays from 2010-15.
