Jim Leyritz’s second baseball career will begin in Newark.
The former Yankees World Series hero who was charged with drunk driving but acquitted of DUI manslaughter in Florida late last year, will serve as the pitching and hitting coach with the independent Newark Bears of the Atlantic League. The Bears are managed by former Yankees player Tim Raines.
“It’s good to get back into baseball and start to rebuild,’’ said 47-year-old Leyritz, who played for the Bears in 2001 on the way back to the big leagues with the San Diego Padres.
Leyritz, a Yankee from 1990-96 and 1999-2000, was involved in a fatal car crash in 2007 that killed 30-year-old Fredia Ann Veitch.
Leyritz settled an unlawful death lawsuit with Veitch’s family for $350,000. He was sentenced to one year probation and fined $500 for drunk driving.