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Q. What do you think of the M's decision to fire Chambliss?
A. There are SSI posts that know what they're talking about. Below that, you have SSI posts that are mostly guessing. Below that, you have complete and utter baloney. 50 yards below that, you have this post.
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Chris Chambliss? For our purposes, suffice it to say that there are a whale of a lot of guys who are in ML clubhouses because they add street cred. The "presence" of a Chris Chambliss type of person, looking eye to eye, is immense.
You've heard about Tim Johnson, who became a MLB(TM) manager because of, literally because of, stories he could tell about Viet Nam. Both to his players, and to his superiors, making hiring decisions. Well, Chris Chambliss can tell stories: stories about Catfish and Ron Guidry and Sparky Lyle, about Billy Martin, about how the Yankees recovered from Thurman's death, about how he won the Yankees that one Series, or was it that other one?, and in Chambliss' case those stories UNDERstate his experiences.
The Mariners have always been particularly susceptible to having people around because of their auras, such as with their Silva-Washburn-Batista-etc rotation. Five MLB(TM) starters, man, and that March, the people in the M's org who had NOT played baseball were practically giggling. About the auras. (Contrast Billy Beane's level of concern about having MLB(TM) street cred in camp.)
I'm not saying there's no place for street cred in the game. You've read SSI; you know that we respect accomplishment, respect intuition, respect a place in the game fairly earned. But it's also good to be aware of the fact that Hisashi Iwakuma was frozen out in 2012 because MLB(TM) union vets presumed that he was a wussy.
So when the Mariners bring in a hitting coach with six rings, my default assumption is that he's there for his aura. That's just an assumption, of course. It seems to take a lot to get a 26-year-old MLB(TM) ballplayer to listen to anybody who doesn't play any more. Six rings constitutes --- > "a lot."
But if you can bring in a coach who is actually very expert at what he does, who lacks Tim Johnson's street cred, but who can actually fix a hitter with rubber bands and stuff... well,t he question is whether the MLB(TM) players will deign to listen to him despite the fact that he doesn't himself play the game. If so, great.
I don't know how good Chambliss was or wasn't technically. I have my assumption. The Mariners just made a public statement -- the dismissal -- that would seem to corroborate my assumption. If the players would deign to listen to the new guy, I'm sure he could help. Probably Zduriencik figures, the guy has had a pretty good working relationship with them now as a hanger-on, so we'll see how it goes for him when they hit their slumps next May.
Bill James has said, players get far too much coaching as it is. They need to be left alone to hit. In principle, bringing in a guy with a soft voice is probably a good idea.
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They are hired to be fired. They are the baseball equivalent of Spinal Tap drummers. I have never heard of a batting coach who has consistently made players better. Teams have them because it would be weird not having one. I'm a little curious to see who the M's hire, but if it isn't an unorthodox pick (like Mike Bard) I will forget the guys name the next day.
With millions of dollars at stake I find it a little surprising that you don't see players working with personal hitting coaches like your typical professional golfer. Michael Saunders could very well be minor league filler if it weren't for the instruction he received seeking out help on his own.
That's my big question. Did they listen to him, follow his instruction in intent and practice, and fail? Or did they just fail to listen? It appears we have players that have been listening, and maybe for too long. Did Saunders listen so long that it nearly ended his MLB experience, until he went his own way with Bard to resurrect his swing? Are Ackley's struggles because of his bone spur or instruction? It seems Smoak listened and responded to Pentland's instruction over Chambliss'. Not all old hitters with MLB cred can teach. Like Olerud, they may be natural hitters. They just do it. But can they teach? It's not the same thing. Who is Pentland compared to Chambliss? Any rings? But can he teach?
... are where it's at. It should be like golf, where you find a coach who can help you maximize your swing. You get off-kilter then he flies into town, does some batting cage work with you, and you continue on.
No hitting coach can connect with every player, because every player swings differently. Some use their arms, some their legs, some their hips and back. Some are more rotational.... very much like golf. The reason hitting coaches are disposable is because the next guy in connects with 3 or 4 DIFFERENT guys than the out-going dude, so it looks like progress for a bit.
Two changes I would make in baseball: One, a fleet of training staff (see: Phoenix Suns in basketball) because for the price of one backup catcher you can get a half-dozen excellent mechainics for your high-powered automobiles that you race every day. I know for a fact that the Mariners don't use their massage therapists or other staff to do more than lead stretching exercises. It's a joke. I could keep Josh Hamilton far more healthy as his personal massage trainer, a la Freddy Couples and his support guys for his far worse physical issues. Why not pay 100+k for the dude who will keep your 150 million dollar investment going? Makes zero sense.
Two: personal swing coaches. Not everybody needs one specifically for them, but I would split em up by comfort with their coaches so that every coach has 2-3 guys to work with. Ty Lawson of the Nuggets brought in his personal shot doctor during the playoffs last year because his shot was off, and went on a rampage after that.
I don't get why baseball isn't like that. For Smoak, it was his dad. For others it's their college coach or their friend's brother or whatever. For some it's an actual "professional" coach. But I would do everything I could to get my hitters surrounded with whatever they need for success, not just put a guy in a jersey to sit on the bench because he can tell good stories about the 70s.
When the best players were making $300K I understand maybe not going the distance for them. That's not even minimum wage any more, and your best players are $20+ MILLION dollar a year investments. if you have a Yugo beater, then yeah you can fix that yourself. If you have a fleet of Ferraris, for pity's sake get a great mechanic.
~G
I don't see a problem with having a team head batting coach to keep people in a similar work regiment...to keep them working in the cage and looking at helpful video and such. But what I think should be do is that whe you sign your 5 year, 65 million dollar contract, some of that money should go to selecting a personal batting instructor to contract each year. Saunders needs Mike Bard...the Mariners should pay Mike Bard a percentage of Saunders' contract to consult with Saunders every time he slumps. It shouldn't be up to the team to pick a bunch of guys for players...the players know by the time they're big leaguers who has been helpful in their amateur and early-pro careers. They should get to choose and it should come out of their paychecks.