A's hire Phil Garner as special adviser

By foxsports
Published

Former manager Phil Garner is now a special adviser to the Oakland Athletics, his first major league club.

General manager Billy Beane made the announcement Friday, when the A's were set to open a weekend series against the first-place Texas Rangers. Garner, an ex-infielder, broke into the big leagues with Oakland in 1973.

Garner, who managed with the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros, will spend time with the A's periodically for the rest of the season. The team said he was scheduled to be in uniform Friday night to provide pregame instruction and evaluation.

The 62-year-old Garner owns a 985-1,054 career managerial record over 15 seasons. A three-time All-Star, Garner delivered the 10,000th hit in Oakland history against the California Angels on June 27, 1975.