Kansas City, MO – Legendary Kansas City icon George Brett has stepped down as the Royals' interim hitting coach after less than two months on the job.
The club's all-time hits leader and Hall of Fame third baseman will give way to Pedro Grifol and return to his previous position of vice president of baseball operations.
"George did an incredible job," said Royals general manager Dayton Moore. "His expertise as a baseball man and his passion to win will have an everlasting effect on our team. I'm thrilled that he will be more involved in all aspects of baseball operations."
Brett, 60, took over as interim hitting coach on May 30 after the Royals reassigned lead and assistant hitting coaches Jack Maloof and Andre David to the club's minor league organization. However, the role did not suit Brett's desires.
"My lifelong passion after playing was not to be a hitting coach, but Dayton asked me if I would consider it, and I did, but only on the promise that it would be on an interim basis," said Brett. "There is a ton of talent here and doing this for almost two months has prepared me to be a better advisor to Dayton and his staff. This has been an unbelievable experience for me and now I'm energized to contribute more to this organization as I return to my non- uniformed role."
During his 21-year career with the Royals, Brett accumulated 13 All-Star selections and 3,154 hits. He is also the only major leaguer to win batting titles in three different decades.
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