Wallace Declines the Angels’ Offer to Coach Pitchers

Dave Wallace has turned down an offer to become the Angels’ pitching coach in order to remain with the New York Mets as a senior advisor to General Manager Steve Phillips.

“We’re disappointed because he’s a good man, but I understand why he made his decision,” Angel Manager Terry Collins said. “It wasn’t because of the offer. It just wasn’t the right time.”

Wallace, one of Collins’ best friends, spent 15 years in the Dodger organization as a minor league coach and roving pitching instructor before becoming the Dodger pitching coach from 1995-97. A native of Connecticut and a resident of Massachusetts, Wallace took the Mets job in 1998.

Collins will now choose Marcel Lachemann’s successor from a list of candidates that includes Boston Red Sox bullpen coach Dick Pole, Angel bullpen Coach Joe Coleman, Angel minor league instructor Mike Couchee, and three pitching coaches who were released by their teams this season--Mike Pazik (Chicago White Sox), Frank Funk (Colorado) and Bruce Kison (Kansas City).