Chuckie Caufield joins Houston Astros organization
Jan. 13—After over 17 years as a player and coach with the Milwaukee Brewers organization, Chuckie Caufield is switching baseball hats.
Last month Caufield, a three-sport star from Ada High School, accepted the job as Special Advisor and Roving Hitting Instructor with the Houston Astros.
"I am very excited about this opportunity. It's definitely a huge promotion from what I was doing before," Caufield told The Ada News. "This is definitely a great opportunity in my career and again I'm really excited for a larger role and this great opportunity Houston is giving me. I will be doing hitting coordinating duties from AAA all the way down to the Dominican level."
Caufield spent the previous five years as an AA hitting coach for the Brewers.
"My favorite job has always been a hitting coach, working up through the ranks in the minor leagues," Caufield admitted. "This job gives you a huge opportunity to impact young men in their careers to help them achieve their ultimate goal of playing in the big leagues. It comes with one of the most rewarding accomplishments — to witness one of the guys you have coached make it. I've been very blessed to have coached many throughout my journey in this great game."
Caufield, an All-State baseball player for the Cougars, has always known a little bit about hitting. As a pitcher and outfielder, Caufield led the Ada High baseball team to a Class 5A state championship in 2001, hitting .417 and going 5-2 on the mound, including a one-hitter in the state semifinals.
Caufield wasn't exactly searching for another gig. But one day he received a phone call from the Milwaukee Brewers' brass, informing him that the Astros were interested in talking to him about the new position. So he decided to go through that interview process, which included having conversations with top Houston executives and Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell.
Caufield ends a relationship with the Milwaukee Brewers that spans over 17 years.
"I will be forever grateful for Milwaukee giving me my first opportunity at professional baseball," he said. "I'm now excited to get my first crack at it with my first new team and different role to continue to impact people."
One of the people Caufield has probably impacted the most is younger brother Kyle Caufield, who is the Ada High School boys basketball coach. So to say Chuckie is a proud big brother is an understatement. He keeps an eye on Cougar basketball from afar.
"I've been so proud of my baby brother as he continues to excel in his coaching career. Those intangibles to be a great leader with game instincts have always been there throughout his playing career as an Ada point guard. He was always good at learning a multitude of things to gain an edge somewhere," Chuckie said. "This goes all the way back as a kid. Despite being a really good athlete, he was always on the smaller side so he had to be a step ahead competitively but played a lot bigger than he really was," he continued. "Knowing how hard he has worked to get where he is in his career makes me the proudest. I know he'll continue to climb as long as he's doing it."
Caufield said he and Kyle have many chats about Ada High basketball.
"The coolest thing for me is how much he cares about his players individually. I really enjoy hearing him talking about the kind of individuals he's coaching and what kind of team he's going to have every season," Caufield said.
There's no doubt, Chuckie Caufield will be the biggest Cougar basketball fan in the Houston Astros organization. He believes this year's Ada squad has the makeup to make a strong run in the postseason.
"I've followed a lot of these guys over the past years and it's been really neat watching how much they continue to develop over the years. These kids play hard and represent themselves well," Caufield said. "They are very exciting to watch. Thank goodness for having live streaming now. I'm really looking forward to how these boys will finish this season. I would love to see them finish on top with a state championship."
