Jonathan Erlichman, nicknamed "J-Money", [1] is a Canadian professional baseball coach for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the first analytics coach in MLB.[1]

Jonathan Erlichman
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 97
Coach
Born: Toronto, Ontario
Teams
As coach

Career

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Erlichman grew up in the Yonge-Eglinton area in Toronto, Ontario. His only experience as a baseball player was in t-ball at the age of five.[2] At age 13, Erlichman read Moneyball, which cultivated his interest in baseball analytics.[3] He attended the prestigious Upper Canada College for his secondary education, where he further developed his mathematical prowess.

Erlichman earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Princeton University in 2012. Erlichman then worked as an intern for the Toronto Blue Jays. He obtained his first fulltime job from the Rays in January 2013 (which is when Andrew Friedman, the then General Manager of the Rays, nicknamed Erlichman “J-Money”) and in December 2016 became their director of analytics. In December 2018, the Rays named Erlichman to their coaching staff as MLB's first process and analytics coach.[1][4]

Erlichman was a coach for the Rays during their 2020 World Series appearance, was a coach for the American League All Star team in the 2021 MLB All-Star Game,[citation needed] and was the analytics advisor for the Dominican Republic national baseball team during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[5]

Erlichman joined the Pittsburgh Penguins organization of the NHL in August 2024 after having spent the previous 12 seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Personal

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He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife Casey. The couple has a daughter. His cousin, Michael Cammalleri, played in the National Hockey League for 15 seasons.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Meet 'J Money': The Canadian who is MLB's most unique coach". Sportsnet.ca. April 16, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  2. ^ Diamond, Jared (March 11, 2019). "The MLB Coach Who Played Only T-Ball". Wall Street Journal.
  3. ^ "'Moneyball': Canadian mathematician coaching Tampa Bay Rays | CTV News". Ctvnews.ca. August 11, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  4. ^ Marc Topkin. "So what will Rays new 'process and analytics' coach do?". Tampabay.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  5. ^ "For Rays' Rodney Linares, World Baseball Classic brings fun, pressure".
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