I recently have posted some criticisms of Steve Henderson, the Tampa Bay Rays hitting coach. The frustration of watching Rays hitters strike out at a rate that would be embarrassing if it weren’t for the Rangers has taken its toll on me. I have grown weary of watching Rays at the plate take call 3rd strikes when there are men in scoring position. Hasn’t anybody coached them on defensive hitting or hitting with two strikes? But of course, you can’t blame the players because they are winning more than they are losing; so it must be the coach.
A week or so ago, the Seattle Mariners fired their hitting coach (Jeff Pentland) and replaced him with 71 year old Lee Elia. Now I don’t know anything at all about Jeff Pentland and only a bit little more about Lee Elia. Elia was a coach with the Devil Rays for a little while and who could ever forget his meltdown as the Cubs manager in 1983. I started to wonder what Elia could bring to the table that Pentland couldn’t. The conclusion I came up with was that I am just a fan; what the heck do I know about being a hitting coach in Major League Baseball. Nothing, except that if the team is hitting well, the coach is doing a good job and if they are not, he sucks.
So the next step was to look at all the hitting coaches in baseball and try to find out what makes them effective or not. Because of my basic lazy nature I only looked at the American league (they only have 14 teams). I was quite surprised at what I found.
Of the 14 hitting coaches in the American League, only 6 have had any Major League playing experience (and that includes Elia). Five of the coaches had significant time and some success in the big leagues (Steve Henderson; Rays, Dave Magadon; Red Sox, Terry Crowley; Orioles, Greg Walker; White Sox and Mickey Hatcher; Angels) . Eight of the coaches had no big league experience at all (Lloyd McClendon; Tigers, Kevin Long; Yankees, Derek Shelton; Indians, Rudy Jamarillo; Rangers, Ty VanBurkles; Athletics, Gary Denbo; Blue Jays, Mike Barnett; Royals and Joe Vavra; Twins). Elia played for parts of two seasons and has a total of 212 Major League at bats.
Those that did play averaged 205 ABs per year, 57 hits per year, 4 HRs per year and 26 RBIs per year. The career batting average for all these players is a modest .278. The conclusion I drew from that research is that it is not necessary to have played the game at a high level to be an effective hitting coach. But what makes an effective hitting coach?
I have narrowed it down to two primary skills and a personality trait. An eye for detail and the ability to communicate effectively are the skills; and the need to feed the family and pay the mortgage without having to get a “real” job is the personality trait. Lest why else would these guys expose themselves to young millionaires who have egos as big as their wallets. I remember Larry Rothschild once said about Jesus Colome; "I can’t teach him anything if he doesn’t want to learn". It must be the same with hitting coaches.
George Bernard Shaw once said, “He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches”. Vince Lombardi once said, “Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are a dime a dozen. The ones who win, get inside their players and motivate”.
Summation: After a lot of research, I have come up with no definitive conclusion as to what makes a good hitting coach. Unfortunately for you, I have invested too much time on this not to put it down on paper. If you have any thoughts on this please don’t hesitate to share them.
A hitting coach at any level of professional baseball is more of an administative position. Batting practice orginization who is batting when and at what station. Who is throwing, shagging, and catching etc; The individual coaching aspect is minimal at the higher levels. Game preperation is also part of the responsibility. How do we approach the pitcher, what to expect in game time situations with baserunners and develop an overall offensive game plan. Dave Duncan of the Cardinals has books upon books of every pitcher and hitter his team has ever faced and the coaching staff reviews these before every series and game. I get the sense the mariners do not have a formal approach to the game other than show up and play ball. They mostly use their coaches to shag fly balls in the pre game warm ups. A well coached team displays a confidence because they are all on the same page in offensive and defensive situations during the game. Pinch hitters are informed before each game you will be used in this or that situation thus their heads are in the game and are'nt suprised by the managers call. The Mariners are not a well coached team.
but as any coach will say i think we can coach you, but we dont play for you!!!! but at this point(and the mariners lost again last night) it will take more than coaches to stop the bleeding!!!! unless a thing called attitude ??? is changed!!!!! they the mariners have to start winning more then lose and get used to winning!!!! for seattle to get going again!!!!!!
What makes a good hitting coach? I would say, mostly, its great hitters that make a hitting coach look important. I am sure that every hitting coach, on every team, makes adjustments to players' motions, and stances etc, and it really makes a difference. But for the most part, it is simply that the manager and his staff, dont have enough time to break down tape of each player, so they have a "hitting coach" to do it. I think they play a role, but I think great hitters are the most important part
bosox61
I think that the thing that makes a great hitting coach. Is a willingness to give advice and at the same time listen to a player.
A lot of the time it may well come down to nothing more than desperation with a player rather than his mechanics.
The one guy that I for one would like to see as hitting coach in the majors would've been Tony Gwynne. The supreme hitter of his era by far ! His level of consistency was unbelievable.
Either way have a great one .....Father's Day that is !
Last edited by justanotherfan on June 11th at 2:05 PM.
Just to be accurate, both Lloyd McClendon and Ty Van Burkleo played at the Major League level.
Jeff Pentland used to be the Cubs' hitting coach. Several people gave him credit for helping Sammy Sosa develop into the hitter he was for his 1998 MVP season. If indeed Pentland was a big reason for Sosa's amazing year I think it supports the "have good hitters" theory of what makes a good hitting coach.
I'm an Angel fan and Angel fans have been trying to figure out what makes a good hitting coach for the last few years. Is Mickey Hatcher a good hitting coach? This year our offense has really been slumping.
Last week I heard Mickey on a radio interview and he said a lot of things I've been thinking this year. He feels just like I do. So maybe it just is the hitters. The hitting coach can help the hitters but he can't swing the bat.
I'll use Garret Anderson as an example of what frustrates me. He hates to walk. Two weeks ago he did walk the winning run in to win the game against the Tigers. He took four pitches, all balls. Amazing. I was waiting for him to go after the 3-0 pitch and GIDP. Nope. But that's typical of him.
The hitting coach really can't make these guys have better at-bats. He can work with them on problems and watch video with them.
I feel that hitting coaches at the MLB level play a minute role in the performance of their respective lineups. Think about it, of all the places to have the top hitting coaches positioned, it makes the least sense to have them stationed at the big league level, where players are already expected to have gotten their plate approach and swing down pat.
Shouldn't the best hitting coaches be where we don't see them, down on the farm? Outside of correcting a few mechanical flaws here and there, I don't see what real purpose a hitting coach can serve when it comes to established skill sets, such as the ones found at the Major League Level. Just a week and a half ago, Greg Walker, the White Sox' hitting coach, was taking heat from fans and Ozzie Guillen and was perceived to be on the hot seat. The idea that a coach was to blame for the failures of hitters like Paul Konerko, Jim Thome, Orlando Cabrera and Nick Swisher, all established veteran hitters, is laughable.
On a slightly different note, i don't really understand why people make such a big fuss about coaching in general in baseball, but thats a different issue than the one at hand.
As a golf club professional I can tell you conclusively that all sports have basic fundamentals that need to be followed to be consistantly good. I watch a ton of games and without a doubt baseball players are just STUPID!!! If hitters didn't try to pull everything instead of trying to hit up the middle or look to go the other way they could all hit .300 but just watch how many weak #### ground balls and pop flys are hit off pitches away trying to pull them.It seems like making solid contact is a thing of the past because hitters are doing more guessing at pitches than taking what is thrown and go with the pitch and not against it.That is why ichiro is so good he hits it where it is pitched just like you were taught in Little League REMEMBER big guy.
Sorry guys about being so tardy in acknowledging your responses. A minor crisis had me occupied for a while.
I appreciate all your comments and opinions.
Ian - I rechecked and you are right. I think I was spelling McClendons name wrong when I was looking it up but it didn't make any sense to me because I knew the name. I don't know how I missed Van Burkleo. All in all it didn't change the statistics very much.
I never was a Hriniak fan. He ruined Rich Gedman and had Dewey hitting from that strange batting stance. I always had the opinion that he thought everybody should hit the same way.
A prime example of this would be a man by the name of Charlie Lau. Had a career BA of .255 with the Tigers, Braves and Orioles. Later on he actually had the #### to write a book called "How to Hit .300" which then became almost like a Bible to hitters like George Brett, Hal MacRae, Carlton Fisk and Frank Thomas. They swear by him. Whatever he knew about hitting, he couldn't do it but he could sure communicate it.
Its all about baseball! Big Leagues, Minors, College, HS or Little League. I seem to be happiest when I'm watching it in one form or another.
As a "long-in-the- tooth" Red Sox fan I have buried many familly members who only got to see my beloved Sox get close. The adjustment in going from a fatalist to a believer concerning the Sox has not been easy for me. I think I may have behaved badly as a fan during this years championship season.It's like learning to write left-handed when you have been right-handed all your life. I follow the Patriots, Boston College Football and college basketball. There is only a little bit of baseball when those sports play.
I only care about the game. If it happens outside the stadium, it is not my business.a>
free web counter
