In the week since losing franchise icon Tommy Lasorda, two other one-time members of the Dodgers organization have died.
Ben Hines, a very successful baseball coach at the University of La Verne and a member of Lasorda’s coaching staff for several seasons, died Wednesday night at age 85. Hines is the father of Bruce Hines, recently named the Angels’ first-base coach.
And Guy Wellman, a long-time scout for the Dodgers and minor-league field coordinator, died Monday at age 99.
After a brief career in the minor leagues, Hines spent 20 years as the head baseball coach at La Verne, winning the NAIA national title in 1972, finishing second at the NAIA World Series once and third three times. Sixty-three of his players went on to play professionally and he was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame and the NAIA Hall of Fame. The baseball field at LaVerne was named in his honor in 1989.
Hines also spent three years as part of the Arizona State coaching staff, including their national championship season in 1981.
Hines joined the Dodgers’ organization in 1985, working as a hitting instructor in the farm system and a coach at Triple-A Albuquerque in 1987 before joining Lasorda’s major-league staff from 1988 through 1993, serving multiple roles, including hitting coach, first base coach and bench coach.
“Ben played a key role in the world championship of 1988 as our hitting coach,” former Dodgers general manager Fred Claire recalled in a statement regarding Hines’ death. “Ben had the respect of our players and everyone in the game. I had the pleasure of knowing Ben dating back to his days as a highly successful coach at La Verne College. Ben’s knowledge and passion for the game enabled him to make contributions to the Dodger organization at both the minor and major league levels during his years with us.”
“Ben was loved by all that worked with him,” Dodgers great Orel Hershiser said. “He was more than a coach for me, he was a good friend!”
After his time at ASU, Hines worked as the Angels’ minor league hitting instructor in 1983 and the Mariners’ batting coach in 1984. Hines also wrote a book on hitting fundamentals entitled “Swing’s The Thing.”
He is survived by his wife, Wanda, sons Steve and Bruce and daughter Kristi.
Wellman, meanwhile, played in the Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds farm systems between serving in the Army during World War II and the Korean War. He rejoined the Dodgers as a scout in 1961 and worked the midwest states for them. The future major-leaguers he was responsible for signing included Steve Garvey, Bill Sudakis and Ted Sizemore, among others.
During his long career with the Dodgers, Wellman was a minor-league catching instructor, a scouting supervisor, a field coordinator and director of the Dodgers’ fantasy camps.
