Chris Bosio, ex-Cubs pitching coach, fired by Tigers over racist comments

DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers have fired pitching coach Chris Bosio, who held the same position for the Cubs the previous six seasons.

The Tigers announced the move Wednesday, saying Bosio’s contract was terminated because of insensitive comments that violated team policy.The team says it holds employees “to the highest standards of personal conduct on and off the field,” adding it has zero tolerance for Bosio’s behavior.

Though there has been no clarity on what comments were made, MLB.com says general manager Al Avila has told reporters the comments were made by Bosio to a team employee and they were racially charged comments.

The team released the following statement:

“Effective immediately, the Detroit Tigers have terminated the contract of pitching coach Chris Bosio for his insensitive comments that violated Club policy and his Uniform Employee Contract. The organization holds all of our personnel to the highest standards of personal conduct both on and off the field. We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior. The Club will have no further comment on this matter.”

Bullpen coach Rick Anderson will take over as pitching coach for the rest of the season.

Bosio, 55, was in his first season as Detroit’s pitching coach after serving in the same role — as one of the league’s highest-paid pitching coaches — for six years with the Cubs. Bosio had been hired by new Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire and was reportedly popular with the Tigers’ pitching staff.

Contributing: Sun-Times wires