Dana LeVangie, who earned four World Series rings over the course of 36 years with the Red Sox organization as a player, coach, and scout, is leaving the organization for a job as a pro scout with the Royals, according to multiple major league sources.
LeVangie, a Whitman-Hanson alum who was drafted by the Sox as a catcher in the 14th round out of American International College in 1991, spent six minor league seasons with the club from 1991-96. He then became the big league bullpen catcher from 1997-2004, a role in which he served as an extension of the coaching staff. (In the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees, he made the call to the dugout suggesting manager Terry Francona send Tim Wakefield, Derek Lowe, and Curt Schilling to the bullpen at Fenway Park — a move that elicited the hoped-for eruption from the crowd.)
LeVangie then spent eight years as a scout — including advance scouting work from 2006-12, a role in which he played a pivotal part in the pre-series preparations that contributed to a 2007 title — before joining the Sox coaching staff from 2013-19, first as a bullpen coach (winning a ring in 2013) and then as pitching coach in 2018-19. After the team’s championship run in 2018, LeVangie was described by starter Rick Porcello as “the heart and soul of our staff.”
After the 2019 season, he was reassigned to the pro scouting staff, where he’d spent the last seven years. Now, for the first time in his professional life, the 57-year-old will be changing organizations.
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.