Coaching Career
Starting in 1996, Hickey became the pitching coach for two seasons at the Houston Astros' Double-A affiliate in Jackson where his staff led the Texas League with 939 strikeouts in 1997.
In 1998, Hickey was promoted to pitching coach for the Astros' Triple-A affiliate, the New Orleans Zephyrs. That year, the Zephyrs won the first-ever Triple-A World Series, pitting the PCl champion against the International League champion. In 2001, the Zephyrs had the second-best ERA in the PCL (3.75 to Tacoma's 3.74) en route to the Pacific Coast League championship. In 2002, Hickey was named a coach for the All-Star Futures Game in Milwaukee and also was a member of the coaching staff for the Triple-A All-Star Game. At the end of the 2002 season, he was named the Astros Player Development Man of the Year. In 2002 and 2003, Hickey's pitching staff led the Pacific Coast League in ERA with a 3.40 mark and a league-leading 11 shutouts.
Hickey was announced as the interim pitching coach for Houston on July 14, 2004, and was named the full-time pitching coach in October 2004 after 14 seasons as a pitching coach in their minor leagues and 7 with the Zephyrs.
In his first year with Houston, he helped the pitching staff which included Roger Clemens, Brad Lidge, Roy Oswalt and Brandon Backe advance to the 2004 National League Championship Series. In 2005, the Astros advanced to the World Series, with Clemens (1st), Andy Pettitte (2nd), and Roy Oswalt (7th) in the National League in ERA. Houston was also second overall in the NL with a 3.51 ERA in 2005, and led the league with the fewest runs and walks allowed.
On November 18, 2006, Hickey was announced as the new pitching coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, replacing Mike Butcher.
Read more about this topic: Jim Hickey (baseball)
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