Tom Goodwin

Thomas Jones Goodwin (born July 27, 1968) is an American baseball coach and former center fielder who is the director of player development for California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). He played professionally for 14 seasons from 1991 to 2004 and then coached for the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves. As a player, he was listed at and ; he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Playing career Goodwin attended Central High School in Fresno, California, and then went on to play for Fresno State University. He was a two-time All-American selection at Fresno State, and was also named to The Sporting News college All-America team in 1989.

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Goodwin in the sixth round (134th overall) of the 1986 MLB draft, but he did not sign. In 1988, he was a member of the gold-medal-winning United States national baseball team at the Summer Olympics in Seoul. Goodwin opted to wait until 1989 to sign with a team, agreeing to terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers, after being selected in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1989 MLB draft.

Goodwin spent only three seasons in Minor League Baseball before making his MLB debut—he had at least 48 stolen bases in each of those seasons.

Goodwin's major-league career highlights include 369 stolen bases over 14 years with the Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs.

During the 2000 season, Goodwin had only six home runs: two were grand slams while another was an inside-the-park home run. He played in the 2002 World Series, going 0-for-4 as the Giants lost to the Anaheim Angels in seven games.

In a 14-year major-league career covering 1288 games, Goodwin posted a .268 batting average with 24 home runs and 284 runs batted in (RBIs); he had a .332 on-base percentage and a .339 slugging percentage.

New York Mets On October 29, 2011, Goodwin was named first base coach for the New York Mets, succeeding Mookie Wilson.

Boston Red Sox On November 2, 2017, Goodwin returned to the Red Sox organization as major-league first base coach on the staff of new manager Alex Cora. Goodwin effectively switched jobs with Rubén Amaro Jr., who moved from the Red Sox to the Mets. Goodwin was a member of the Red Sox coaching staff when the team won the 2018 World Series.

During Boston's 2021 season, Goodwin missed several games in the first-half of August, after being deemed a close contact with Red Sox bench coach Will Venable, after the latter had a positive COVID-19 test. In late August, Goodwin missed several additional games after again being deemed a close contact with personnel who tested positive. Near the end of September, Ramón Vázquez took over as Boston's first base coach in preparation for the playoffs, as MLB mandated that only COVID-vaccinated staff would be allowed in dugouts and on the field during the 2021 postseason, and Goodwin was not in compliance. On October 25, after the Red Sox' season ended with a loss in the ALCS, the team dismissed Goodwin. Goodwin spent the next two seasons as a roving instructor in the Atlanta Braves' minor league system, and was promoted to first base coach at the major league level following the departure of Eric Young Sr. at the end of the 2023 season.

Atlanta Braves On November 5, 2025, the Braves hired Antoan Richardson as the team's first base coach, replacing Goodwin.

Fresno State In 2026, Goodwin was hired as the director of player development at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), his alma mater, under head coach Ryan Overland.