On Thursday, the New York Mets fired pitching coach Dave Eiland and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez.

That the Mets shook up their coaching staff is not surprising on its own, given how badly they've scuffled this year after entering the season with such high expectations. No, the shocking part was that the Mets' new pitching coach is 82-year-old Phil Regan.

Uniformed coaches who are also octogenarians don't come along often, even if it is on an interim basis. And this hiring should naturally lead to plenty of questions, such as "Why did the Mets hire an 82-year-old?" Let's try and answer them by introducing you to the newest coach in Flushing.

Who exactly is Phil Regan?

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A baseball lifer. Regan, who hails from Otsego, Mich., began his career in 1956 as a 19-year-old Detroit Tigers pitching prospect with the Class-D Jamestown Falcons of the PONY (Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York) League. Neither the Falcons nor "D" level of the minors exist today. The PONY League remains, but it's now known as the New York-Penn League.

Who gave him his nickname 'The Vulture'?

It was bestowed upon him by Sandy Koufax, his teammate on the Dodgers. Regan explained how it happened to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post in 2017:

"Sandy pitched a game in Los Angeles against the Phillies, and Jim Bunning, he went 11 innings, gave up one run and struck out 16. They took Sandy out for a pinch hitter. I came in, pitched one inning, we got a run and I got the win. Four days later we went to Pittsburgh. Sandy went seven innings, struck out nine, gave up one run. They took him out for a pinch hitter. I came in, we scored and I got the win. "(Koufax) came in the clubhouse and said, 'Regan, you are a real vulture. Give me my win,' and some reporter heard it, and that's the way it started."

How long did he pitch in the majors?

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Regan spent 13 years in the bigs from 1960-72 with the Tigers, Dodgers, Cubs, and White Sox. Here are his career statistics:

W-L ERA GP/GS K BB SV WHIP 96-81 3.84 551/105 743 447 92 1.34

Regan was an All-Star reliever with the Dodgers in 1966, leading the NL in saves and games finished in both 1966 and 1968 while twice earning Sporting News Reliever of the Year (the premier award for relievers at the time). He was a member of the Dodgers' pennant-winning team in 1966, and a part of the infamous 1969 Cubs, who authored a rather infamous September collapse that Mets fans know quite well.

On April 21, 1968, Regan won both games of a doubleheader for the Dodgers against the Mets at Shea Stadium. Both wins came in relief. Two days later, he was traded to the Cubs.

Does he have any coaching experience?

Plenty, and at multiple levels. After coaching 10 seasons at Grand Valley State University, Regan moved to the Seattle Mariners and served as their pitching coach from 1984-86. Later, he was a pitching coach for the Indians and Cubs, and most recently with Cleveland in 1999.

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Regan managed the Baltimore Orioles in 1995, the year Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played. He spent three seasons managing in the minors, most recently for Single-A West Michigan in 2003. Regan also was a coach for Team USA at the 2000 Olympics and had a long run managing winter league teams in several Latin American countries.

So how did the Mets find him?

By giving him a call. Seriously, he's been a part of the Mets organization since 2009. Regan was the pitching coach at High-A St. Lucie from 2009-15, and at the time of Thursday's promotion was listed on the team's website as their minor-league pitching coordinator.

Is he the oldest coach ever?

You might think so, but he's not. In fact, Regan's not even the first octogenarian to wear a baseball uniform this decade. Back in 2011, a then 80-year-old Jack McKeon briefly came out of retirement to manage the Florida Marlins.

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The most famous 80-something coach is, of course, legendary Philadelphia Athletics skipper Connie Mack. Mack guided the A's for 50 seasons before finally retiring in 1950 at age 87. Let's hope Regan doesn't fall asleep in the dugout like Mack purportedly did during his last years with the A's.

How is he connected to baseball's past?

Since he's been around the game for what seems like forever, Regan's got plenty of connections to some of the great names in baseball history. Here are a few:

Regan's big-league debut came on July 19, 1960, against the Washington Senators at Detroit's Briggs Stadium. In 1961, the Senators moved to Minnesota and Briggs Stadium was renamed Tiger Stadium.

Regan allowed a homer to legendary slugger Harmon Killebrew in his debut.

In his sixth big-league appearance, Regan walked Ted Williams, who retired one month later.

Regan saved games started by Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Don Sutton, and Ferguson Jenkins.

Regan's teammate as a rookie was Eddie Yost, who debuted on the 1944 Senators. One of Yost's coaches on those 1944 Sens was former pitcher Nick Altrock, who made his big-league debut with the 1898 Louisville Colonels and pitched in the 1906 World Series.

Carl Yastrzemski hit .326 with three homers in 52 plate appearances against Regan. Yastrzemski's grandson, Mike, now plays for the San Francisco Giants. Regan will have to game plan for Mike Yastrzemski when the Mets visit San Francisco in July.

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