Jim Eppard

James Gerhard Eppard

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 180 lb.
• School Citrus College, University of California
• High School Azusa High School
• Debut September 8, 1987
• Final Game October 1, 1990
• Born April 27, 1960 in South Bend, IN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Jim Eppard was signed as a 13th round pick in the 1982 amateur draft by the Oakland A's and scouting director Dick Wiencek. He would go on to win minor league batting titles in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1990.

Although a lefthander, he played all nine positions in a game for the Salinas Spurs of the California League on August 28, 1991. He even picked up the win that day by pitching a scoreless 5th inning in the 2-1 win over the San Bernardino Spirit.

As his playing career was winding down, Eppard took the first steps into a coaching career. He was a player/hitting coach for the St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League in 1993. He then joined the Colorado Rockies organization as a hitting coach for the Central Valley Rockies in 1994. After a five year stint as a minor league manager, he was the hitting coach of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 2000-2002. In three seasons as the Colorado Springs hitting coach, the Sky Sox never finished lower than sixth in the Pacific Coast League in batting average.

Eppard joined the Anaheim Angels player development system in 2003 where he served as the hitting coach of the Salt Lake Stingers from 2003-2005. He remained with the renamed Salt Lake Bees until May 15, 2012 when he was promoted to the position of hitting coach with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, replacing the fired Mickey Hatcher after the Angels had gotten off to a terrible start with the bat. The Angels finished the year leading the major leagues in team batting average (.274) after ranking 14th prior to Eppard's promotion. Eppard returned to that role for the 2013 season, but was re-assigned after the season as the Angels failed to make the postseason. He was the Angels' Minor League Assistant Hitting Coordinator in 2014-2015.

Eppard left the Angels in 2016 to join the Oakland Athletics organization as their Minor League Hitting Coordinator. He still held that position in 2025 under the renamed The Athletics.

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1995	AZL Rockies	Arizona League	13-42	6th	Colorado Rockies	none
1996	AZL Rockies	Arizona League	26-30	4th	Colorado Rockies	none
1997	Portland Rockies	Northwest League	44-32	3rd	Colorado Rockies	League Champs
1998	Portland Rockies	Northwest League	34-42	5th (t)	Colorado Rockies
1999	Asheville Tourists	South Atlantic League	64-77	11th	Colorado Rockies