NEW YORK -- Billy Connors, a longtime New York Yankees executive and pitching coach, died Monday. He was 76.
Connors was a fixture around the Yankees for many years, first joining the club at the end of the 1988 season. The next year, he began three stints as Yankees pitching coach. In addition to serving in that role in 1989-90, he also worked in that capacity in 1994-95 and 2000.
He was perhaps best known with the Yankees for his time as vice president of player personnel from 1996-2012. It was during that span when the man many considered the organization's "pitching whisperer" helped recent greats like Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera hone some of the pitches that jump-started their careers.