Braves' new hitting coach's philosophies should have Chipper Jones feeling supersonic

Oct 29, 2024

A lot went wrong for the Atlanta Braves last season. Injuries are a part of the game, but they were not the primary reason why Atlanta fell short of its lofty standard last year. It had everything to do with the team's collective approach at the plate. Atlanta had three NL All-Stars, but only one was an every-day player in designated hitter Marcell Ozuna. Kevin Seitzer's boom-or-bust philosophy came up empty.

In one of the Braves' three coaching staff changes, out went the former hitting coach Seitzer and in came another member of a World Series champion staff. Tim Hyers left last year's World Series champion in the Texas Rangers to come back home. Hyers grew up in Newton County just outside of Atlanta. By joining the Atlanta coaching staff, Hyers brings with him a refined philosophical approach.

During a Zoom meeting on Monday morning, he shared his three core philosophies to the local media. Justin Toscano of the AJC shared with us that they are "game-planning, swing decisions and movements in the batter's box." He also harped on the importance of being able to score runs in mutliple manners. I would like to think that Braves legend Chipper Jones would like the sound of that.

Jones had been critical of Seitzer and the Braves' overall offensive approach throughout last season.

New Braves hitting coach Tim Hyers just spoke on Zoom. Three core principles of his: Game-planning, swing decisions and movements in the batter's box. And as he talked about these, he also hit on another important point: Scoring runs in different ways.More coming soon @ajc

Jones was a first-ballot hall of famer partly because he continually refined his approach at the plate.

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In his coaching career, Hyers has worked for the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Boston Red Sox, the Rangers and now the Braves. He won World Series Championships in Boston in 2018 and last season in Texas as a part of the 2023 team. I think the fact that he is well-traveled, but also hailing from Braves Country is a huge boost to Atlanta. It seems like a breath of fresh air offensively.

What became problematic under Seitzer was the Braves lived and died by the long ball at times. It worked out wonderfully during the record-setting 2023 regular season, but once the bats went cold in October, it kind of carried into this season. Ozuna was able to self-correct throughout most of this year. Matt Olson took it upon himself in the second half to play better. It was all she wrote for Atlanta.

The biggest reason why this new offensive approach sits well with me is Atlanta can unfortunately be stubbornly stuck in its own ways organizationally. The John Schuerholz Braves Way became a joke about a decade ago. Atlanta is not a perennial contender if the Braves did not have the courage to look outside its organization at someone like Alex Anthopoulos to lead the charge in the front office.

As far as Jones is concerned, I distinctly remember his 2008 season. The Braves were not very good, but Jones had the self-awareness to recognize that he was not going to be able to have much power at the plate that season in spring training. He took it upon himself to be the best contact hitter in baseball, from both sides of the plate. Jones won his only NL Batting Championship that MLB season.

Atlanta is dripping with talent, but I felt that last season they were mailing it in with the mental game.

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