Former FSW and Mighty Mussels hitting coach joins Twins staff

Every swing during batting practice is under the watchful eye of Rayden Sierra, one of the Minnesota Twins hitting coaches who’s in his first season with the big league club.

Sierra remembers getting the call from Twins manager Rocco Baldelli informing him of the job.

“I was in the middle of a meeting so I was like I got to jump back into this meeting and try not to show as much emotion as I want to right now,” Sierra recalled.

When asked by WINK News what Sierra brings to the club, Baldelli answered, “Rayden is going to bring his own unique perspective his own personality. I’m still getting a chance to really get to know Ray. But all of our player development group who’ve known him gotten to know him very well have an immense amount of respect for him and his knowledge. He’s got the way about him. He’s not going to speak unless he has something very meaningful to say. And when he does, you listen. You really pay attention to his words.”

Sierra’s coaching journey includes multiple stops here in Southwest Florida. In 2021, Sierra was at Florida Southwestern State College as a hitting and outfield coach.

Sierra said about his time at FSW, “I think it definitely served as a stepping stone to get to the point where I am today. I think that being around the players the staff that was there. We had an incredible group of players that were really open minded and welcoming to some of the ideas that came through.”

Then, Sierra spent three seasons as the hitting coach for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.

“Everything from those experiences built up to this,” Sierra explained. “Again, it’s not a thing where I learned everything I needed to learn at FSW or when I was here in Fort Myers with the Mighty Mussels. It’s a thing it just keeps piling up. You just keep gaining knowledge. You know somethings work a little bit better than others.”

Sierra has been in the Twins organization for five years. This is his first time coaching the big league players. For Sierra, his coaching philosophy is based on respect.

“These are their careers and you’re trying to help them as much as you can,” Sierra said. “Be available and make sure what you’re providing to them is like you’ve done your homework on.”

Sierra told WINK News he didn’t think coaching was going to be his calling. He was away from the sport for just six weeks before returning to coach. He said coaching has provided him a new excitement for the sport.

“This is a game that comes with a lot of failure,” Sierra explained. “And seeing those guys go through some failures, put in the work and come out the other end with success. And knowing you were a small portion facilitator to work through that there’s a lot of joy that comes from that for me.”