Although it had been unofficially reported back in November, the Dodgers confirmed on Thursday afternoon that they would be bringing back their entire major league coaching staff for the 2015 season.

Returning this season are:

Don Mattingly – Manager (fifth season)

Lorenzo Bundy – Third Base coach (second season)

Chuck Crim – Bullpen Coach (third season)

Rick Honeycutt – Pitching Coach (10th season)

Davey Lopes – First Base Coach (fifth season)

Mark McGwire – Hitting Coach (third season)

Tim Wallach – Bench Coach (second season, fifth on staff)

Ken Howell – Assistant Pitching Coach (third season, eighth on staff)

John Valentin – Assistant Hitting Coach (third season)

Steve Yeager – Catching Instructor (fourth season)

Rob Flippo – Bullpen Catcher (14th season)

Steve Cilladi – Bullpen Catcher (second season)

Mattingly enters his fifth season as the Dodgers’ manager after leading the club to a second consecutive NL West title and a 94-68 record in 2014. The Dodgers’ record has improved in each of Mattingly’s four seasons and his .547 winning percentage (354-293) as the Dodgers skipper ranks fourth in franchise history among managers with at least 500 games managed.

Last year, under the tutelage of hitting coaches Mark McGwire and John Valentin, the Dodgers led the Majors with a .333 team on-base percentage and ranked among the NL leaders in batting average (.265 – 2nd), slugging percentage (.406 – 2nd), extra-base hits (474 – 3rd) and runs scored (718 – 2nd). The Dodgers also led the MLB with a .286 batting average with runners in scoring position (420 for 1469).

Dodger pitchers ranked fourth in the NL in 2014 with a 3.40 combined ERA, including a 3.20 mark by the starting rotation – second best in the MLB. The Dodgers also also established a new franchise record with a National League-best 1,373 strikeouts. Since Rick Honeycutt took the reins as pitching coach in 2006, the Dodgers have led the Majors with a 3.67 team ERA, a .247 opponents’ batting average and 11,209 strikeouts.

There had been some speculation that bench coach Tim Wallach would be called upon to fill one of several managerial positions that became available at the conclusion of the 2014 season but the extremely popular 57-year-old Huntington Beach native never got the call. Many feel that it is just a matter of time before Wallach becomes a major league manager, having managed the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate Albuquerque Isotopes to a franchise record 80 wins in 2009, for which he was named the 2009 Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year and received a promotion to the Dodgers as their third base coaching in 2010. Wallach was subsequently promoted to bench coach in 2014.

There were also rumors that because of the meltdown of the Dodgers bullpen late in the season and into the postseason that bullpen coach Chuck Crim’s job might be at risk, but the likable 53-year-old Van Nuys native survived an off-season cut and will return in 2015 for his third season with the team – much to the pleasure of his relief corps, who think very highly of Crim and his teaching skills.

Although there has been no official word on the status of the Dodgers medical, training and conditioning staffs, there has been nothing to suggest that there will be any changes. There has also been no official word on any coaching changes among the Dodgers minor league affiliate teams.

(The Dodgers PR Department contributed to the article)