Culver City Observer -

The Angels announce the promotions of Dave Hansen to hitting coach and Paul Sorrento to assistant hitting coach. The announcements were made by General Manager Billy Eppler.

Hansen, 47, assumes the role after serving as the Club’s assistant hitting coach during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. During the 2014 campaign, which saw the Angels lead the Majors in runs and finish second in the American League in hits and RBI, Hansen handled the offense for 12 weeks while hitting coach Don Baylor recovered from a broken thigh bone.

2015 will mark his third stint as full time hitting coach for an organization. After being tabbed as Seattle’s hitting coach in 2013, his Mariner offense hit 188 home runs, good for second in the American League and an improvement of 39 homers over the previous season. Hansen also spent part of the 2011 season and all of 2012 as the Dodgers’ hitting coach.

A Southern California native, Hansen played 15 seasons at the Major League level for the Dodgers (1990-97; 1999-02), Padres (2003-04) and Mariners (2004-05). In 2000, he set a Major League record with seven pinch-hit home runs, surpassing the former mark of five.

Hansen also owns the Dodgers’ club record for most pinch-hits in a single season (18 in 1993) and in a career (110).

Sorrento, 49, will enter his fifth season with the Angels organization in 2016. He spent the last three seasons as the Minor League Hitting Coordinator and was the hitting coach for Adv.-A Inland Empire during the 2012 season.

He also assisted Hansen in 2014 following the aforementioned injury to Don Baylor. In 2013, Sorrento was the recipient of the Mara Forcey Award for his dedication to the Angels organization. .