Kevin Seitzer laughs when he hears the question.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no idea,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I see the news and see all the changes. I\u2019m thankful for every day, let\u2019s put it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seitzer wasn\u2019t aware of this until now, but going into his ninth season as the hitting coach for the Atlanta Braves, he has the curious distinction of being in his current position longer than any other hitting coach in Major League Baseball.<\/p>\n
The job he occupies \u2014 part coach, part therapist, part scientist \u2014 has quickly become the most unsteady occupation in a world where people take jobs knowing they will eventually be fired.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the most volatile job in baseball,\u201d Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said this offseason.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the MLB hitting coach has become a fragile title \u2014 17 teams changed hitting coaches between the 2021 and 2022 seasons. This coming season, 10 coaches will enter their first year with new teams. The average length of tenure for active MLB hitting coaches is about 2.4 years.<\/p>\n
Those figures lead to a layered series of questions. Why are there so many new hitting coaches? Why are these jobs so hard to keep?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy there\u2019s so much turnover is because one of the easiest things to do is just to blame the hitting coach,\u201d said Pirates manager Derek Shelton, who was hitting coach for the Indians from 2004-09 and the Rays from 2010-16. \u201cThe reason it\u2019s hard is because anybody who\u2019s ever picked up a bat thinks they can be a hitting coach, and because of that, everybody has an opinion on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Atlanta, Seitzer has become an exception to the rule. He is 60 years old and has watched as his hitting-coach acquaintances seemingly get younger each year. Seitzer is admittedly cut from an older-school cloth, much like Braves\u2019 manager Brian Snitker. He\u2019s been around long enough to be on his fourth hitting coach job. He was fired from two previous ones with the Diamondbacks and Royals, so he knows what it\u2019s like.<\/p>\n
Seitzer, though, has adapted over the past nine years, working in one of baseball\u2019s top analytical organizations. And despite a profile different from many of his peers, he is in charge of a lineup that has ranked in the top one-third in the league in terms of run production in five consecutive seasons. Last year, the Braves\u2019 .443 team slugging percentage was the best in baseball.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always say, \u2018the better your players, the better hitting coach you got,’\u201d Seitzer said. \u201cA hitting coach comes alongside to help and support, encourage, prepare, and then hopefully we\u2019ve got a button or two to push when guys are scuffling to get them going again. But it\u2019s hard because you\u2019ve got all kinds of players from different backgrounds, different makeups, different tendencies, mentally, emotionally, mechanically. There\u2019s so much that goes into it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reason the hitting coach job has become so unstable \u2014 the reason Seitzer and Tampa Bay\u2019s Chad Mottola are the only coaches who have been in their current roles for more than five years \u2014 relates to a variety of factors swirling around today\u2019s game. It connects to baseball\u2019s analytical movement, the increasing nastiness of pitchers across the league and a culture where hitting coaches can often be scapegoats for teams and front offices obsessed with \u201cefficient\u201d paths to winning.<\/p>\n
Seitzer is the first to admit his job today is much different from when he started after the 2014 season. \u201cIt\u2019s changed big time,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would be with so many exclamation points it\u2019s not even funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the Braves\u2019 front office first began presenting Seitzer with bundles of new information \u2014 specifics on attack angles and exit velocities just scratching the surface \u2014 Seitzer was skeptical.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was scary,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was, \u2018Oh my gosh, I already take hours to prepare, now it\u2019s gonna take more hours to process additional information.’\u201d<\/p>\n
But Braves staffers, Seitzer said, kept preaching patience. \u201cThey kept saying, \u2018No, no, no,’\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018It\u2019s gonna cut the time you need to prepare.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Seitzer tried to take in the data with an open mind. He listened to the direction of his bosses and embraced the advance reports sent his way.<\/p>\n
There were others throughout the league who did not adapt so seamlessly. And many of those who did not adapt eventually lost their jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure enough, it took a month before I was like, \u2018Dang, they were right,’\u201d Seitzer said. \u201cI don\u2019t need to watch video for two hours. I can see what I need to see in 45 minutes, a half-hour, and then you start to get more efficient because you trust the information you\u2019re getting that\u2019s telling you what the pitchers are doing, and then the whole process starts to roll, and then we put together our plan and approach and we\u2019re ready to go get \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2023\/01\/23154036\/USATSI_13395601-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n Seitzer with Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr in 2019. (Adam Hagy \/ USA TODAY Sports)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
More data and more information can have their caveats, though. In today\u2019s game, it\u2019s easy for hitters to get overwhelmed with all the different numbers they\u2019re presented with. And worse, pitchers have had a distinct advantage since science and technology infiltrated baseball like never before over the past decade.<\/p>\n
As pitchers design sliders in labs and use biomechanics to alter their deliveries and increase velocity, hitting has become more difficult. Last year\u2019s league-wide batting average was .243, the lowest since 1968. Strikeouts across the league have increased precipitously almost year over year, from 23,853 in 1990 to 40,812 last season. The average MLB fastball is now 93.9 mph, pitchers are throwing breaking balls more than ever and teams use a revolving door of relief pitchers to lock down games.<\/p>\n
All that makes life tough for a hitting coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe velocity has been the big difference, and it\u2019s not just on the fastball,\u201d Seitzer said. \u201cIt\u2019s on the secondary stuff, too. Then you\u2019ve got the spin rates to go with it and you\u2019re still getting break at 5-6 mph harder than what you\u2019re used to seeing. It\u2019s like (the ball) is on plane and then it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, that\u2019s the reason strikeouts are up so much. Everybody thinks it\u2019s because they\u2019re trying to slug and hit homers and OPS numbers and all of that. That\u2019s part of it, but for me, it\u2019s the strike-to-ball stuff that is so hard to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2021, the Detroit Tigers won 77 games and were seen as on the rise. With the help of hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh, under-the-radar players such as Jonathan Schoop, Jeimer Candelario, Eric Haase and Akil Baddoo had successful seasons.<\/p>\n
In 2022, the Tigers won only 66 games, several players regressed in their performance and Coolbaugh ultimately lost his job. That\u2019s just one example of the fickle art of hitting.<\/p>\n
\u201cPitching is a very controllable skill,\u201d Hinch, the Tigers manager, said. \u201cYou control your grip, you control your delivery, the things that you can enhance. Hitting is reactionary, so it\u2019s hard to get too scientific in the hitting department, because we\u2019re reacting to 98 with sink and cut, and he might slide it and he might change it and he might have split. There\u2019s a lot more that goes into it than the simple science of swing mechanics. It\u2019s the reaction part of our sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the hitting coach cannot ultimately react for the player at the plate, teams are working hard to counteract the rise in pitching dominance. The Tigers replaced Coolbaugh and assistant Mike Hessman with a three-person hitting department, highlighted by 28-year-old Michael Brdar, who came over from the Padres. Brdar and other new-school hitting coaches like him have a bent toward analytics and biomechanics. (Coolbaugh, curiously enough, ended up as an assistant hitting coach with Brdar\u2019s old team, the Padres.)<\/p>\n
Being a big-league hitting coach goes well beyond throwing soft-toss in a cage and telling a player to squash the bug. Coaching hitters is evolving into a job less about teaching an athletic skill and more about studying the physics of hitting a ball and the anatomy behind a swing.<\/p>\n
\u201cSix years ago, when I was a hitting coach, you didn\u2019t have to be a movement specialist,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cNow you have to be some sort of movement specialist or you have to have someone on your staff who is a movement specialist. You have to be able to let them have conversations about what hitters are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Players, too, are exposed to more voices than ever. Most players work with private hitting instructors during the offseason. Such outside influences were seen as taboo only a few years ago. Now, most teams have worked toward embracing private hitting instructors. Aaron Judge, for instance, works with hitting instructor Richard Schenk, a pool hall owner who studied hitters online before morphing into a hitting guru.<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago, and I can speak from experience, you were extremely sensitive that they were going elsewhere,\u201d Shelton said, \u201calmost like it was an indictment that you didn\u2019t have the information to provide. It\u2019s become such a norm now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only a few years ago, outsiders such as Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc \u2014 a former private hitting instructor who never played professionally \u2014 were seen as radical hires. Now the old guard of hitting coaches has been almost replaced by younger, forward-thinking hitting coaches, many of whom never played in the majors.<\/p>\n
In 2018, per Sports Illustrated, the average age of 13 newly hired hitting coaches was 42.3, down from an average age of 53 among the coaches they replaced.<\/p>\n
In 2023, there will be 19 lead hitting coaches under age 40.<\/p>\n
MLB hitting coaches<\/p>\n
| TEAM<\/span><\/th>\n | COACH<\/span><\/th>\n | YEARS ON JOB<\/span><\/th>\n | AGE<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n| \n | \n | Joe Mather<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n \n | 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n \n | 40<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Kevin Seitzer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 9<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 60<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Ryan Fuller\/Matt Borgschulte<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 32\/32<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Pete Fatse<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 35<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Jose Castro<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 64<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Dustin Kelly<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 39<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Joel McKeithan<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 31<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Chris Valaika<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 37<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Hensley Meulens<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 55<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Michael Brdar\/Keith Beauregard<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 28\/39<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Alex Cintron\/Troy Snitker<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 5<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 34\/44<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Alec Zumwalt<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1.5<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 41<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Marcus Thames<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 45<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Robert Van Scoyoc<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 5<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 36<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Brant Brown<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 51<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Ozzie Timmons\/Connor Dawson<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 52\/29<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n David Popkins\/Rudy Hernandez<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 33\/54<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Dillon Lawson<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 37<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Jeremy Barnes<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 35<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Tommy Everidge<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 39<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Kevin Long<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 56<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Andy Haines<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 45<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Ryan Flaherty<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 36<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Justin Viele<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 4<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 32<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Jarret DeHart\/Tony Arnerich<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 28\/43<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Turner Ward<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 57<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Chad Mottola<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 7<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 51<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Tim Hyers<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 51<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Guillermo Martinez<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 5<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 38<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Darnell Coles<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 60<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div><\/div>\n As staffs grow younger, they are also growing larger. Teams are increasingly hiring assistant hitting coaches or finding other ways to divvy up responsibilities to help handle massive amounts of information. Seitzer has worked with an assistant hitting coach since the start of his time in Atlanta. Gabe Kapler\u2019s San Francisco Giants now have 13 coaches on his staff, including hitting coach Justin Viele, director of hitting Dustin Lind and assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero.<\/p>\n \u201cIt helps immensely,\u201d Seitzer said of expanded hitting staffs. \u201cIt helps with the preparation, deciphering the advanced stuff that we get and then being able to relay to the hitters.\u201d<\/p>\n One problem: Despite all the changes in personnel, hitters across the league have yet to find more success. Teams scored 4.28 runs per game last season, down slightly from 4.53 in 2021. Teams averaged only 8.16 hits per game, the 11th-lowest total in MLB history.<\/p>\n \u201cSomebody takes responsibility for failure, and it just seems like it\u2019s always landing on the hitting coaches right now,\u201d said A\u2019s manager Mark Kotsay, who worked as the Padres\u2019 hitting coach in 2015. \u201cIt\u2019s a tough job. It\u2019s a full-time job, and one that I don\u2019t envy from being able to speak as a prior hitting coach.\u201d<\/p>\n MLB is banning the infield shift beginning in 2023, just one measure designed to aid offenses. But any rule changes will not undo the massive amounts of turnover we\u2019ve seen among hitting coaches. Next season, only six teams \u2014 the Braves, Rays, Astros, Dodgers, Giants and Blue Jays \u2014 will have a primary hitting coach who has been in the same role for more than two seasons.<\/p>\n So that leads to another question: Should hitting coaches have longer leashes? Ask anyone who has done the job, and they\u2019ll tell you it takes time to build relationships, to get to know hitters and what they like, what they don\u2019t like, how to coach them and what gets them to respond best.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can be around your kids every single day, you know how your kids act and think,\u201d Seitzer said. \u201cYou know their tendencies. You know when they\u2019re happy, when they\u2019re not, when they\u2019re worried, when they\u2019re frustrated. It\u2019s the same way with players. That\u2019s a part of the job, that you have to have some feel and some court awareness and an understanding of how these guys work and how they act and what they\u2019re sensitive to. And it takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n In Atlanta, Seitzer knows he is lucky. He works in an organization with admired leadership and a strong on-field roster. But it wasn\u2019t always that way. The Braves lost 95, 93 and 90 games in each of Seitzer\u2019s first three seasons. Over time, the roster evolved and young players such as Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Michael Harris flourished. Seitzer remained in his position, and now the Braves are among the best teams in baseball.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t ever take this job for granted,\u201d Seitzer said. \u201cThere\u2019s only 30 of them. They\u2019re hard to get. They\u2019re hard to keep.\u201d<\/p>\n (Top photo of Kevin Seitzer: Kim Klement \/ USA TODAY Sports)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n |
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