Marlins hire former Yankee Tino Martinez as hitting coach

The Marlins have hired retired two-time All-Star first baseman Tino Martinez as their new hitting coach.

Martinez, 44, replaces Eduardo Perez, who was fired last week along with manager Ozzie Guillen and other members of Guillen’s staff.

A lifetime .271 hitter who won four World Series titles with the New York Yankees, Martinez faces a huge challenge with the Marlins in his first year as a coach under new manager Mike Redmond.

Miami in 2012 finished 29th in the majors in runs scored (609), 28th in RBI (576) and 24th in hitting (.244). The Marlins hit .234 with runners in scoring position, tied with Houston for the third-lowest mark in the majors.

Martinez broke in with the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and spent seven seasons with New York starting in 1996 and returned to New York for his final major-league season in 2005. He posted six 100-RBI seasons and retired with 1,925 hits, 339 home runs and 1,271 RBI.

Last season, Martinez was a special assistant in the Yankees’ front office.

The Marlins still have to name a pitching coach and a bench coach. One candidate for pitching coach is Reid Cornelius, the team’s bullpen coach. Perry Hill will return as infield coach and Joe Espada as outfield coach.