Former New York Yankee and Yankees pitching coordinator Danny Borrell was named the pitching coach at Georgia Tech baseball on August 16, 2019.
Borrell arrived on The Flats after spending 18 years in the Yankees organization, first for seven years as a left-handed pitcher, then as a pitching coach and eventual pitching coordinator for its farm system.
In just his first full season at the helm of the pitching staff in 2021 (after the 2020 season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic), the Yellow Jackets led the ACC in strikeouts in 36 conference games and Friday night ace Brant Hurter, under Borrell’s tutelage, was named all-ACC before being selected in the seventh round of the MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers.
In 2022, Borrell was once again able to help steward Yellow Jackets into the MLB Draft as the pitching staff recorded its second-highest strikeouts per 9 innings in program history (9.28). As part of a whopping eight draft selections, three from the pitching staff saw their names called in Los Angeles — Zach Maxwell (sixth round), Chance Huff (eighth round) and Marquis Grissom, Jr. (13th round).
The youngest pitching coordinator in the MLB when hired by the Yankees in 2015, Borrell led approximately 180 pitchers per year and 11 pitching coaches over nine minor league affiliates. During the last three seasons, Borrell helped lead the Yankees to be the best pitching organization in baseball as their staffs led in a multitude of statistics, including strikeout percentage, strikeouts/9 innings, strikeouts/walk, and fastball velocity. In total, he developed 34 Big Leaguers during his tenure with New York – including MLB All-Stars Dellin Betances and Luis Severino.
A second-round pick in the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft to the New York Yankees, Borrell played for both the Yankees (2000-06) and Oakland A’s (2006-08) during his nine-year professional career. The 6-foot-3, left-handed pitcher made 138 appearances and 120 starts in his career, pitching to a 3.49 career ERA. In addition to being named the 2002 Yankees Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Borrell would help bring home four minor league championships (2000, ‘01, ‘02, ‘08).
Prior to the MLB, Borrell was a standout two-way player at Wake Forest from 1998-2000, earning freshman All-American and second-team NCBWA All-American during his college career. Borrell helped lead the Demon Deacons to two of their four ACC titles (1998, ’99) in program history, pitching a complete game in the 1998 ACC Championship win over Florida State. Wake Forest was 131-59-1 in his three years, including a program-record 47 wins in 1999.
He finished his career 10-8 on the mound in 24 starts with a 6.21 ERA, while batting a career .336 with 37 homers and 174 RBI – both still tied for 10th in Wake Forest history.
The Sanford, N.C. native led Lee County High School to the state baseball championship in 1996. He graduated from Wake Forest with a bachelor’s degree in communication in 2009.
Borrell and his wife of 18 years, Martha, reside in Atlanta with their son, Logan.
Brian Cashman – General Manager of the New York Yankees:
“Over the past 19 years, Danny has been a force for the New York Yankees – first as a player, coach and eventually our Coordinator of Pitching. We look forward to watching him impact his players in the same positive way as he did for us with his new position.”
Larry Rothschild – New York Yankees Pitching Coach:
“I’ve been fortunate to have worked with Danny for the better part of nine years. He is an excellent pitching coach and is able to understand all the facets of today’s world. His communication skills are excellent and this enables him to develop a great relationship with pitchers. He will be an invaluable asset for Georgia Tech. You could not have hired anyone better to be the pitching coach.”
Dellin Betances – Four-time MLB All-Star and New York Yankee:
“Danny Borrell is one of the best pitching coaches I ever worked with and part of the success I’ve had, I owe it to him.”
