Following his playing career, Hale, a graduate of
Chicago's
CVS High School, worked at the
Bucky Dent baseball school in
Boca Raton, Florida from 1989 through 1992, when he became a coach for Double-A
New Britain in the
Eastern League. Hale started his
managerial career in 1993 in the Boston
farm system with High-A
Fort Lauderdale Red Sox in the
Florida State League. A year later, he guided
Sarasota to the FLS playoffs, and in 1995 he also was a playoff qualifier with
Michigan in the
Midwest League, being rewarded as the league's
Manager of the Year. He spent 1996 with Sarasota and was promoted to Double-A
Trenton in 1997, managing the
American League team in the
Double-A All-Star Game. Hale guided Trenton to a league-best 92–50 record in
1999. That season, he also coached
United States team in the
All-Star Futures Game at
Fenway Park, and was honored as
Minor League Manager of the Year by
Baseball America,
The Sporting News and
USA Today Baseball Weekly, as well as winning Eastern League honor. converses with
Ty Wigginton during a pitching change. From 2000 to 2001, Hale managed for the
Texas Rangers Triple-A affiliate
Oklahoma RedHawks, as he guided his team to a pair of second-place finishes in the
Pacific Coast League East Division, and worked with major league club at
spring training. He was promoted as Rangers first base coach and outfield instructor, and continued in those duties through the 2005 season. In a nine-season managerial career, Hale posted a 634–614 record for a .508
winning percentage. Before the
2006 season, Hale was named by the Boston Red Sox as their
third base coach, replacing
Dale Sveum. Hale had worked with Red Sox Manager
Terry Francona before, when Francona was the Rangers bench coach in 2002. On November 23, 2009, Hale was named the new Red Sox bench coach. During the 2010 off-season, Hale was rumored to be one of four finalists for the
Toronto Blue Jays managerial job, along with
Brian Butterfield,
John Farrell, and
Sandy Alomar Jr. Following the 2011 season, Hale left the Red Sox organization to become the third base coach for the
Baltimore Orioles. Following the 2012 season, on November 24, 2012, Hale was named as the new bench coach for the
Toronto Blue Jays, replacing
Don Wakamatsu. On April 28, 2013, Hale was
ejected for the first time in his MLB career by
umpire Chris Conroy for arguing
Yankees batter
Eduardo Nunez's delayed entrance into the
batter's box. Hale joined the
Atlanta Braves in 2019, as a minor league coach and special assistant. He was named to the major league coaching staff in July 2020, as
Eric Young opted not to travel with the team during the 2020 season, shortened as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Hale was hired as bench coach for the
Cleveland Indians on November 23, 2020. On July 29, 2021, Hale was named acting manager for the remainder of the 2021 season after manager
Terry Francona went on a health-related leave of absence. On November 13, 2023, Hale was hired by the Toronto Blue Jays to serve as associate manager under
John Schneider. ==References==