Manager Drew Spencer of Team Great Britain walks off the field during the World Baseball Classic Pool C game against Team Mexico at Chase Field on March 14, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. Mexico defeated Great Britain 2-1. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
By Julian Guilarte
World Baseball Network
The New York Yankees hired Drew Spencer as the complex coordinator at their player development complex in Tampa, Florida.
Spencer announced the news on his social media on December 22, 2023. Spencer will begin his role with the Yankees in early February.
“The Yankees have given me an opportunity to contribute to the most storied and successful franchise in Baseball. It’s both an honor and a privilege for me”, Spencer told World Baseball Network. “There are some very smart and talented people in the organization. I’m excited to get to Tampa and to begin serving the players and doing what I can to help the club succeed.”
Spencer will be coordinating the day-to-day activities of the staff and players at the complex in Tampa.
Last season, the Yankees Florida Complex League team lost in the finals of the playoffs 9-1 to the Atlanta Braves FCL team.
The Yankees have four players among their top 30 prospects ranked by MLB Pipeline who played in the FCL last season: shortstop Roderick Arias (6), left-handed pitcher Henry Lalane (12), second baseman Kiner Delgado (24), and right-handed pitcher Carlos Lagrange (25).
Spencer managed Great Britain at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, their first appearance in the WBC. Great Britain went 1-3 in Pool C in Phoenix at Chase Field, with their lone win coming against Colombia.
Great Britain went 3-0 in the 2022 WBC Qualifier 1 in Regensburg, Germany. They beat Spain 10-9 in the final game on Sept. 20, 2022.
Spencer talked about the experience of the WBC and what it meant for Great Britain to qualify, with MLB reporter Michael Chair on June 19.
“A couple of years ago, being able to do what we did at the Qualifier and do what we did at the main event — that was more of a dream,” Spencer said. “Now it’s a brick in the wall, now it’s a platform we get to stand on.”
Spencer was named the manager of Great Britain in 2020. He managed Great Britain’s U23 team for two years in 2018 and 2019, leading them to fifth place in the European Championship in 2019. Great Britain beat Ukraine 3-2 in the fifth-place game.
Spencer also managed the London Mets in 2018 and 2019 and won back-to-back championships in the National Baseball League, which is Great Britain’s highest level of domestic competition. The London Mets were established in 1988 and have won nine championships.
Spencer’s first managerial experience was with Great Britain’s youth baseball team, where he won five championships and was a finalist for Youth Baseball Coach of the Year in 2017.
Drew Spencer was an outfielder and pitcher at Dartmouth College from 1994-97 and received all-Ivy honors in all four seasons. He made first team All-Ivy League all in 1994 and 1996. Spencer had a .365 batting average, 113 RBI, and 47 stolen bases in his college career. While at Dartmouth, he played two seasons in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Orleans Firebirds.
Spencer will continue to manage Great Britain, who qualified for the 2026 WBC. The British Baseball Federation is ranked 18th in the WBSC Men’s Baseball Rankings.