Red Sox hire Young as pitching coach

“We had internal and external candidates,’’ said Francona. “Curt was the No. 1 choice. I just didn’t know if it was realistic.’’

By Oct. 23, when it became evident that Farrell would become the manager of the Blue Jays, the Sox turned their attention to Young.

Young rejected a contract extension from Oakland and met with Sox general manager Theo Epstein in Arizona. While he had security in Oakland, Boston represented a step up.

“Knowing Terry, and the respect you have for him across the field, what a great job he does, it was definitely something that I could not pass on,’’ Young said.

The Sox also interviewed minor league pitching coordinator Ralph Treuel and advance scout Mike Cather, the former pitching coach at Double A Portland. But within a few days, they had a deal in place with Young.

“This is an exciting time for us,’’ Francona said. “We really caught a break. We got a really good pitching coach.’’

Young spent parts of 23 seasons with Oakland — 12 as a player, four as a minor league coach, and seven as pitching coach. Oakland had the lowest earned run average in the American League (4.03) during his tenure, while allowing the lowest batting average (.257) and fewest home runs.

This past season, Oakland had the lowest ERA in the AL (3.56) and led the league with 17 shutouts. Young played a large role in the development of Brett Anderson, Andrew Bailey, Trevor Cahill, Rich Harden, Dan Haren, and Huston Street.

As a player, the lefthanded Young was 69-53 with the Athletics, Royals, and Yankees.

“Pitchers who have worked with Curt swear by him,’’ Epstein said, “and the results speak for themselves.’’

Francona was the bench coach in Oakland in 2003 and had Young by his side for some intrasquad games in spring training. There is a familiarity that has grown in recent days.

“We have the whole offseason, which is actually kind of exciting,’’ Francona said. “I’m looking forward to hearing things that are important to him and having some back-and-forth.’’