Official: Angels Eric Hinske new hitting coach

[Angels#1Fan]

Good hitters are born not made by a coach.

[Angels#1Fan]

Having said that..Winston Llenas.

[totdprods]

I saw that Chili interviewed for the Padres hitting coach gig so maybe there's a chance.

[eligrba]

3 hours ago, Angels#1Fan said:

Good hitters are born not made by a coach.

So you are suggesting more of a breeding program approach....

[greginpsca]

3 hours ago, Angels#1Fan said:

Good hitters are born not made by a coach.

George Brett wasn't much of a hitter until Charley Lau got hold of him. Walt Hriniak also helped a lot of hitters in his time.

[Adam]

34 minutes ago, eligrba said:

So you are suggesting more of a breeding program approach....

Not much of a hitter by trade, but perhaps there's some power on the dam side of Lackey. He should be hitting the breeding barn next year. 

[Inside Pitch]

4 hours ago, totdprods said:

I saw that Chili interviewed for the Padres hitting coach gig so maybe there's a chance.

.... a chance he takes that job before the Angels reach out to him....    Still hope they do.

[Ohtaniland]

3 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

.... a chance he takes that job before the Angels reach out to him....    Still hope they do.

Would like to see Chili as a hitting coach / bench coach and then possibly a future manager. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 hour ago, Inside Pitch said:

.... a chance he takes that job before the Angels reach out to him....    Still hope they do.

The Angels are expected to name a hitting coach in the next day or two, so I assume they've already interviewed everyone they want to interview. 

[totdprods]

44 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

The Angels are expected to name a hitting coach in the next day or two, so I assume they've already interviewed everyone they want to interview. 

I assume if you had any guesses or names you would have wrote about it by now, but thought I'd ask if you knew just in case....thanks for everything Jeff!

[Angels#1Fan]

3 hours ago, eligrba said:

So you are suggesting more of a breeding program approach....

LOL

No.

I'm of the opinion that talent is what makes a good/great hitter..If you could teach someone to hit then everyone would be able to hit ML pitching!

[Angels#1Fan]

3 hours ago, greginpsca said:

George Brett wasn't much of a hitter until Charley Lau got hold of him. Walt Hriniak also helped a lot of hitters in his time.

If Charley Lau was instrumental in "making" Brett a great hitter, why then wasn't the Royals line-up chock full of other HOFer's just like him?

Pointing out one guy that had success is called anecdotal evidence. Now if you could point out multiple examples of players that Lau helped become lifetime .300 HOF hitters then you'd have a case, but it's my opinion that Brett already had the talent. Perhaps Lau helped him but he didn't take an untalented Brett and turn him into a great hitter. If that were so there would be plenty more just like him. 

My point is that good/great hitters are born not made. Are there exceptions? Perhaps, but not many and I would argue those exceptions already had the talent to hit.

BTW..Brett had reasonably good success in the minors before Lau came along. In 4 minor league seasons Brett hit .281, not what I would call "not much of a hitter".

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

The Angels are expected to name a hitting coach in the next day or two, so I assume they've already interviewed everyone they want to interview. 

Thanks for the update Jeff..    While I've pined for Davis to be the hitting coach, I'm sure Eppler will get us the person he sees best capable of pushing forward his offensive agenda.

[Inside Pitch]

21 minutes ago, Angels#1Fan said:

If Charley Lau was instrumental in "making" Brett a great hitter, why then wasn't the Royals line-up chock full of other HOFer's just like him?

Pointing out one guy that had success is called anecdotal evidence. Now if you could point out multiple examples of players that Lau helped become lifetime .300 HOF hitters then you'd have a case, but it's my opinion that Brett already had the talent. Perhaps Lau helped him but he didn't take an untalented Brett and turn him into a great hitter. If that were so there would be plenty more just like him. 

My point is that good/great hitters are born not made. Are there exceptions? Perhaps, but not many and I would argue those exceptions already had the talent to hit.

BTW..Brett had reasonably good success in the minors before Lau came along. In 4 minor league seasons Brett hit .281, not what I would call "not much of a hitter".

Nobody was going to turn Gary Disarcina into Cal Ripken but you're sort of going to extremes in completely dismissing a guy who's teachings were in fact lauded all over MLB.

Anyway, while I agree that Brett greatness was mostly a result of his talent his own assessment of Lau's impact on him as a hitter should carry some weight IMO..   https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/03/19/White-Sox-batting-coach-Charley-Lau-who-made-some/6932448520400/

'Charley was a guy who took me when I was just an extra utility player and made me into an everyday player,' said Brett. 'He said, 'You've got to start going to left field a little more. Will you put the time and effort it's going to take?''

The article below names some of the other hitters who Lau was credited as helping or making better..

https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/cooperstown-confidential-the-tale-of-charley-lau/

Now the guy that doesn't get enough credit when it comes to Brett is the dude that taped this....   Talk about HOF worthy...

 

[Angels#1Fan]

17 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Nobody was going to turn Gary Disarcina into Cal Ripken but you're sort of going to extremes in completely dismissing a guy who's teachings were in fact lauded all over MLB.

I did say that perhaps Lau helped Brett, that's hardly a "complete dismissal". I have no doubt that some coaches have helped players, but they had to have the talent to start with otherwise the Major Leagues would be full of great hitters that were taught how to hit.

It's like trying to teach someone how to run fast. Sure it's possible for a coach to help maximize a runners ability but no coach on earth is going to "teach" Albert Pujols how to run fast or for Mario Mendoza to hit higher than .215!

[Jeff Fletcher]

2 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

The Angels are expected to name a hitting coach in the next day or two, so I assume they've already interviewed everyone they want to interview. 

Wally Joyner, Chili Davis and Kevin Long all have experience as hitting coaches and connections to the Angels or Eppler.

We'll all know soon. 

[arch stanton]

Modern hitting coaches are getting hitters who have already been well coached in principles that Lau first pointed out then got tweaked over the years. Where someone like Brett may have only seen his own at bats from tv angle at full speed someone like Trout has access to multi-angle breakdowns in slo-mo of every aspect of his swing. His hitting coach is part psychologist and part video editor. They probably make their real difference with guys like Simmons who made it this far on sheer physical talent and are trying to find an identity as a hitter at the highest level on the planet

[Billy_Ball]

Oh yeah, Kevin Long, the former Yankees hitting coach.

[greginpsca]

3 hours ago, Angels#1Fan said:

If Charley Lau was instrumental in "making" Brett a great hitter, why then wasn't the Royals line-up chock full of other HOFer's just like him?

Pointing out one guy that had success is called anecdotal evidence. Now if you could point out multiple examples of players that Lau helped become lifetime .300 HOF hitters then you'd have a case, but it's my opinion that Brett already had the talent. Perhaps Lau helped him but he didn't take an untalented Brett and turn him into a great hitter. If that were so there would be plenty more just like him. 

My point is that good/great hitters are born not made. Are there exceptions? Perhaps, but not many and I would argue those exceptions already had the talent to hit.

BTW..Brett had reasonably good success in the minors before Lau came along. In 4 minor league seasons Brett hit .281, not what I would call "not much of a hitter".

Frank White, Hal McRae, Amos Otis also were helped by Lau. There were also several players on the Royals at the time that did not believe in Lau’s theories. I was told this by a player on the Royals .  

[Angel Oracle]

We're all waiting with baited breath.

[tomsred]

9 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

We're all waiting with baited breath.

Yes, but exactly what is it that we're waiting for - to be pleasantly surprised, or the onslaught of criticism, LOL.  Probably something along the lines that we can't understand, and wonder why?

[tomsred]

On 10/18/2017 at 2:23 PM, Calzone said:

Would like to see Chili as a hitting coach / bench coach and then possibly a future manager. 

Wow, you promote people fast!

[Amazing Larry]

I'd like to see Chili as MLB Commissioner or perhaps President of the United States. That is of course if he isn't elected leader of the UN first. 

[tomsred]

1 hour ago, LHalo said:

I'd like to see Chili as MLB Commissioner or perhaps President of the United States. That is of course if he isn't elected leader of the UN first. 

President of the United States sounds good.  The new standards are much lower for that position than they used to be.

[Troll Daddy]

What’s the frickin holdup