Tigers Fire Pitching Coach Chris Bosio For Insensitive Comment

Ryan Mayer

Detroit (CBS Local)- The Detroit Tigers have fired pitching coach Chris Bosio for directing insensitive comments towards an employee of the organization, which violated team policy. The team released a statement on their website Wednesday night.

"Effective immediately, the Detroit Tigers have terminated the contract of pitching coach Chris Bosio for his insensitive comments that violated Club policy and his Uniform Employee Contract. The organization holds all of our personnel to the highest standards of personal conduct both on and off the field. We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior. The Club will have no further comment on this matter."

Bullpen coach Rick Anderson will take over Bosio's role as pitching coach for the rest of this year, while the team's roving pitching instructor A.J. Sager will fill in for Anderson in the bullpen for the team's next road trip. Once the team returns home, Triple-A pitching coach Jeff Pico will take over the bullpen coach role for the major league club.

General manager Al Avila said that he was made aware of the comments on Tuesday and the team performed a full investigation before Avila informed Bosio of his decision on Wednesday. He spoke to the team's website about the decision.

"First and foremost, I have to take seriously what the comments were, and the action we took was appropriate," Avila said. "We felt that obviously it was the right move, and that's the most important thing for us. Secondary is what's going to happen to the pitching, and we feel more than confident with the experience of Rick Anderson and Jeff Pico to lead the way the rest of the season."

Avila did not specify what the insensitive comments were or who they were directed at. Bosio was in his first year with the Tigers after spending the last six years in the same role for the Chicago Cubs under Joe Maddon.

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