You never want a former superstar hitting coach because they didn't struggle. You want a guy who had a respectable career because those guys have to grind to keep their jobs.
It's why Bonds was famously a shit coach. Dude was a superstar who couldn't explain what he did, he just did.
People loved Marcus Thames until the team struggled, then it was all his fault, but Thames is exactly the type of guy who wasn't particularly great but lasted in the big leagues for like a decade. He knew how to grind it out and keep a job.
Tbf Thames approach as a hitter was to always swing for the fences. Worked great for this team when the ball was juiced. Didn’t work out so great when it was deadened. You could be a respectable player and still be a mediocre-bad coach.
I understand your logic, but when Don Mattingly was Yankee hitting coach, Matsui basically doubled his home run output compared to the previous year, and the Yankees set their own franchise record for homeruns.
That said, teaching/coaching is a seperate skill set. Not everybody who is a good coach was a great player, but Torre was a great position player. Mel Stottlemyre was a great pitcher. Don Zimmer? A below average player but a brilliant baseball mind. That late '90s run would not have been possible without them.
*edited for spelling.
I don't know if Bonds offered any direct assistance to Judge, but I do remember Michael Kay saying that Judge's swing is the exact mirror image of Bonds's. The YES network showed a nice split-screen video comparison.
There's this weird assumption from fans that the best players make the best coaches, when history has shown that to not be true. Mark Prior is considered a great pitching coach for the Dodgers who himself had a career that famously flamed out.
When I was in high school and still played ball I worked out with a Minor League vet during a few winters, the type of dude that had been in the minors for a decade, was an I sane catcher, and couldn’t hit if is life depended on it.
He was super helpful in some ways when it came to defense, but sometimes he would just try to explain something in a way I couldn’t even do if I tried. He had an absolute elite for MLB standards pop time, and it just did not work for me because the guys arm was so damn strong he could get away with stuff I could never.
Great guy though, and he’s now carving out a pretty successfully MiLB coaching career which is great to see… dude was barely making ends meat for a decade down there.
I had him on MVP Baseball 2004. He and Nick Johnson were great for me. Both were OBP machines.
Wilkerson had a pretty good 3-year run from 2002-2004 (age-25 to age-27). .840 OPS, 20 HR, 7 SB in 2002. .844 OPS, 19 HR, 13 SB in 2003. .872 OPS, 32 HR, 13 SB in 2004. He was serviceable for 3 more years after that. His prime was quite short, but definitely underrated.
IIRC meulens was widely understood to be the "conduit", the coach who was also a player who can talk to players a little differently and break things down in player terms. He works with the other guys who maybe didn't play but are smart in their own right to lubricate communication.
Hey Shohei, I know you read the subreddit. Our new asst coach is the best two way player in college baseball history, and was good enough to be a two-way MLB player. Just saying. In case you want a coach that understands you.
Lol he's 45. Same age as Ichiro, Pete Rose, Carlton Fisk, Omar Vizquel, Roger Clemens, Tommy John, and Bartolo Colon when they last played. Younger than Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Julio Franco, Jesse Orosco, Hoyt Wilhelm, Phil Niekro, and Jamie Moyer when they made their last MLB apperance.
For the info of everyone, he was a teammate of Yankee Legend Todd Williams as part of Team USA in the 2000 Olympics, whose manager was a former Yankees minors player, Tommy Lasorda.
# LET'S FUCKING GO (OLYMPICS) YANKEES
#
to cover-up the flaws of the first hitting coach. insane. Jets did same thing with QB zach wilson. Hired two coaches..see how well that turned out. Well run franchises just hire one competent coach, not two
He had a respectable MLB career, too. Almost won rookie of the year in 2002 with the then-Expos. Brings some added perspective.
You never want a former superstar hitting coach because they didn't struggle. You want a guy who had a respectable career because those guys have to grind to keep their jobs.
Bench / role players / etc usally make the best coaches because they had to fuckin grind.
It's why Bonds was famously a shit coach. Dude was a superstar who couldn't explain what he did, he just did. People loved Marcus Thames until the team struggled, then it was all his fault, but Thames is exactly the type of guy who wasn't particularly great but lasted in the big leagues for like a decade. He knew how to grind it out and keep a job.
Tbf Thames approach as a hitter was to always swing for the fences. Worked great for this team when the ball was juiced. Didn’t work out so great when it was deadened. You could be a respectable player and still be a mediocre-bad coach.
I understand your logic, but when Don Mattingly was Yankee hitting coach, Matsui basically doubled his home run output compared to the previous year, and the Yankees set their own franchise record for homeruns. That said, teaching/coaching is a seperate skill set. Not everybody who is a good coach was a great player, but Torre was a great position player. Mel Stottlemyre was a great pitcher. Don Zimmer? A below average player but a brilliant baseball mind. That late '90s run would not have been possible without them. *edited for spelling.
Didn’t bonds help judge tweak his swing last offseason
I don't know if Bonds offered any direct assistance to Judge, but I do remember Michael Kay saying that Judge's swing is the exact mirror image of Bonds's. The YES network showed a nice split-screen video comparison.
"Swing by BALCO."
Great point!
Never thought of it that way before. Makes sense.
There's this weird assumption from fans that the best players make the best coaches, when history has shown that to not be true. Mark Prior is considered a great pitching coach for the Dodgers who himself had a career that famously flamed out.
Mark Prior was a very good pitcher, injuries are what killed his career.
He hit for cycle with the Expos. Pretty sure him and Eric Valent randomly hit for cycle around the same time.
But what's he know about modern day hitting?
Solid MVP Baseball 05 trade target
When I was in high school and still played ball I worked out with a Minor League vet during a few winters, the type of dude that had been in the minors for a decade, was an I sane catcher, and couldn’t hit if is life depended on it. He was super helpful in some ways when it came to defense, but sometimes he would just try to explain something in a way I couldn’t even do if I tried. He had an absolute elite for MLB standards pop time, and it just did not work for me because the guys arm was so damn strong he could get away with stuff I could never. Great guy though, and he’s now carving out a pretty successfully MiLB coaching career which is great to see… dude was barely making ends meat for a decade down there.
I had him on MVP Baseball 2004. He and Nick Johnson were great for me. Both were OBP machines. Wilkerson had a pretty good 3-year run from 2002-2004 (age-25 to age-27). .840 OPS, 20 HR, 7 SB in 2002. .844 OPS, 19 HR, 13 SB in 2003. .872 OPS, 32 HR, 13 SB in 2004. He was serviceable for 3 more years after that. His prime was quite short, but definitely underrated.
This should complete our coaching staff, unless I'm missing something. Wilkerson replaces Hensley Meulens.
IIRC meulens was widely understood to be the "conduit", the coach who was also a player who can talk to players a little differently and break things down in player terms. He works with the other guys who maybe didn't play but are smart in their own right to lubricate communication.
Hey Shohei, I know you read the subreddit. Our new asst coach is the best two way player in college baseball history, and was good enough to be a two-way MLB player. Just saying. In case you want a coach that understands you.
Let's also hire Micah Owings next year lol
CAN HE PLAY LF?
Lol he's 45. Same age as Ichiro, Pete Rose, Carlton Fisk, Omar Vizquel, Roger Clemens, Tommy John, and Bartolo Colon when they last played. Younger than Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Julio Franco, Jesse Orosco, Hoyt Wilhelm, Phil Niekro, and Jamie Moyer when they made their last MLB apperance.
A rhetorical question. Of course he can play left field better than Hicks ;-)
For the info of everyone, he was a teammate of Yankee Legend Todd Williams as part of Team USA in the 2000 Olympics, whose manager was a former Yankees minors player, Tommy Lasorda. # LET'S FUCKING GO (OLYMPICS) YANKEES #
Was great at OBP at his best. Can't hurt
This is the key to unlocking Hicks 😂
Why do we need an assistant hitting coach???
to cover-up the flaws of the first hitting coach. insane. Jets did same thing with QB zach wilson. Hired two coaches..see how well that turned out. Well run franchises just hire one competent coach, not two
the astros have 2 hitting coaches and an assistant hitting coach
He will be the one that yells swing!!
When you have two hitting coaches you have no hitting coaches.
Whifferson was his nickname when sucking for the Rangers 🤣
Any relation to Malcom’s family from Malcom in the Middle?