Sun Devil Baseball Adds Goff, Mueller to Coaching Staff
TEMPE – Sun Devil Baseball's 2021-22 coaching staff is coming together with the additions of Mike Goff and Bill Mueller, as announced by first-year head coach Willie Bloomquist this afternoon.
A long-time staple in the MLB and MiLB coaching ranks, Mike Goff will bring over 35 years of professional and collegiate coaching experience to the Sun Devils program as the team's assistant coach.
Additionally, Bill Mueller will join the staff as the program's hitting coach, bringing over two decades of experience as a player, coach, scout and front office member at the highest level of baseball in the MLB. Mueller most recently coached at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz.
The Sun Devil Baseball coaching staff already features nearly 40 years of professional baseball coaching experience and over two decades worth of experience as players in Major League Baseball.
A complete look at each assistant follows.
Mike Goff, Assistant Coach
With nearly three decades of professional coaching experience under his belt and 35 years of baseball coaching experience overall, Mike Goff brings a wealth of knowledge to the Sun Devil dugout as the team's assistant coach.
Goff spent 16 years with the Seattle Mariners organization (1992-2007), seeing time as the bench coach in 2007 and the team's first base coach from 2005-07 as well. Goff would also see more time as a coach in the MLB ranks as the bench coach for the Miami Marlins in 2015. Goff is making his return to the collegiate coaching ranks after having served as an assistant coach at South Alabama for three years from 1989-91.
Goff has worked extensively in player development through his career and during his time with the Mariners, he spent nine seasons as coordinator of instruction for the Mariners farm system and spent four seasons managing.
As the Minor League coordinator, Goff was responsible for the management, coordination and day-to-day operations of the Mariners' farm system. He hired, supervised and mentored a staff of over 40 employees and 160 players in the United States, Venezuela, and Dominican Republic. It was during this time and this role for Goff that the Seattle Mariners were named the 2001 MLB Organization of the Year.
Goff managed low-A Wisconsin to the Midwest League Championship series in 1996 and was manager of the West team in the MWL All-Star Game. He spent 1993-94 as manager at short-A Bellingham and took the 1993 team to its second consecutive division title in first season at the helm.
Following his time with the Mariners, Goff managed in both the Cincinnati Reds (2008) and San Francisco Giants (2009-14) organizations before being tabbed the bench coach for the Marlins in 2015.
With the Giants organization, Goff spent four seasons managing in the Arizona Rookie League, where he took the Giants' squad to the championship series in 2009. From there he would lead the Low-A Augusta Green Jackets to the best overall record and playoffs in the South Atlantic League.
Goff's time with the Giants and his efforts in developing several prospects came at a time that coincided with a key part in the organization's run to three World Series titles in five years from 2010-15.
Among the many players that played under Goff throughout his time as a minor league baseball manager are David Ortiz, Justin Turner, Travis Wood, Raul Ibanez, Ryan Franklin, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Matt Duffy, Andres Torres and others. Numerous key players in the Mariners organization came through the ranks while Goff was the Minor League coordinator, including Felix Hernandez and – of course – Sun Devil head coach Willie Bloomquist. Goff spent time with the organization during a tenure where the Mariners produced the likes of Ken Griffey, Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Ichiro Suzuki and Randy Johnson.
Prior to his time as a coach in professional baseball, Goff spent five seasons in the Boston Red Sox organization as a player after a solid collegiate career at UAB. He entered the coaching ranks after that as an assistant coach at South Alabama.
Bill Mueller, Hitting Coach
Keeping with the theme of professional baseball experience, the Sun Devils will have a wealth of talent and knowledge in the form of Bill Mueller as the program's hitting coach.
The 2004 World Series Champion with the Boston Red Sox joins the staff after spending over two decades in professional baseball as a player, front office assistant, scout and hitting coach.
Mueller spent 11 seasons as a player in the MLB, primarily with the Giants and Red Sox. He was the American League Batting Champion with the Red Sox in 2003 with an average of .326 and won the AL Silver Slugger Award for third basemen that season as well. He finished 12th in the AL MVP voting that season.
He finished his career with a .291 average while slugging .425 with a .797 OPS, recording 85 home runs, 265 doubles and 22 triples. In 36 postseason games, he hit .234 (34-for-145) with 14 runs, 8 doubles, 1 home run, 4 RBI and 13 walks.
On July 29, 2003, visiting the Rangers, he hit three home runs in one game, two of which were grand slams. Mueller became the 12th player in major league history to hit two grand slams in one game, but the first ever to hit one from each side of the plate, which has never been repeated. The grand slams also came in consecutive at-bats.
He played a significant role in the Red Sox's 2004 season en route to becoming World Series Champions. Hit a dramatic game-winning walk-off home run on July 24, 2004, against the New York Yankees. The game appeared to be another devastating loss for the then stagnant Red Sox, but in the bottom of the ninth, with the Red Sox down a run and Yankees closer Mariano Rivera on the mound, Mueller hit a 3–1 pitch into the Red Sox bullpen in right field, winning the game for the Red Sox. Many baseball analysts considered this game to be the turning point in the Red Sox 2004 season, in which they went on to win the World Series.
He made a significant number of contributions to the Red Sox's World Series win in 2004. The most notable was his critical RBI single in the ninth inning of Game 4 against the Yankees in the ALCS. Down 4–3 in the ninth inning and facing elimination, Kevin Millar drew a walk from closer Mariano Rivera. Dave Roberts pinch ran for Millar and stole second base. Mueller singled him home and the Red Sox went on to win in 12 innings, beginning their run of eight straight wins, culminating in the title.
Mueller held a .455 career batting average against Mariano Rivera and was appropriately dubbed "The Rivera Slayer."
Mueller wasted no time working his way into the front office ranks, joining the Dodgers front office as special assistant to the general manager immediately after his retirement in 2006 before being named the organization's hitting coach for the second half of the 2007 season.
Mueller would then return to the Dodger front office for the next several seasons, working under general manager Ned Colletti before leaving that position to become a full-time scout.
After a year spent as a scout, Mueller was brought on by the Chicago Cubs as the organization's hitting coach before spending four seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals as an assistant hitting coach and also spent time as first base coach during his tenure there.
Mueller played collegiate baseball at Missouri State University and was named Missouri Valley Player of the Year as a senior in 1993 when he had 18 doubles, 11 home runs and batted .371 for MSU. The switch-hitting St. Louis native graduated as the MSU all-time leader in runs (234), hits (289), singles (222), total bases (398), walks (154) and stolen bases (65), and was in the top five in games, at bats, doubles, triples, on base percentage, extra-base hits, hit by pitch, sacrifice hits, assists, total chances and double plays.
The Bears' MVP as a senior, Mueller earned second team All-America recognition from the American Baseball Coaches Association. A co-captain as a junior and senior, Mueller was picked for the USA National Team and U. S. Olympic Trials in 1992. He was selected in the 15th round of the MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants and was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.
Mueller spent 2020 and 2021 as an assistant coach at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz.