The Phillies announced a series of hirings in the front office and on the coaching staff this afternoon. Perhaps most notably, longtime big leaguer Howie Kendrick has joined the club as a special assistant to general manager Sam Fuld. The Phils also hired Brian Kaplan as assistant pitching coach and director of pitching development, while Jason Camilli has joined the staff as assistant hitting coach.
Kendrick played in the majors for fifteen seasons, breaking in with the Angels in 2006. The right-handed hitting second baseman spent the next eight seasons in Anaheim, regularly offering above-average production on both sides of the ball. His .285/.338/.464 showing earned him an All-Star nod in 2011, and Kendrick picked up some down ballot MVP support after posting a .293/.347/.397 mark with plus defensive ratings in 2014.
While Kendrick spent the bulk of his career as a regular with the Halos, he adapted with aplomb to more of a situational role later in his career. After a pair of solid seasons with the Dodgers, Kendrick landed with the Phillies in November 2016 via trade. His playing tenure in Philly lasted only a few months, as the eventual last place Phils sent him to the Nationals just before the ensuing trade deadline. While Kendrick’s stint in Philadelphia was brief, he clearly garnered the respect of those within the organization.
Productive as Kendrick was in Anaheim, he might wind up being best remembered for his final few seasons in Washington. While the Nats cut back on his playing time over his final few years, Kendrick was as effective as ever from 2018-19. After mashing at a .344/.395/.572 clip during the 2019 regular season, he had a stellar postseason that helped the franchise to its first World Series title. Kendrick was named the 2019 NLCS MVP after a .333/.412/.600 showing during the Nats’ sweep of the Cardinals. He returned for a final season in 2020 and announced his retirement last December.
While Kendrick is certainly the most famous of the Phillies’ recent hires, Kaplan and Camilli figure to be more involved in the organization on a day-to-day basis as members of the coaching staff. Kaplan comes over from the private ranks, as he’d previously been the vice president and co-founder of Cressey Sports Performance, an independent training facility in Florida. One of CSP’s other co-founders, Eric Cressey, also works in strength and conditioning with the Yankees.
Camilli comes over from the Reds, where he spent the 2021 season coaching their Arizona Complex League affiliate. The 46-year-old had previously spent time as an instructor in the Nationals and D-Backs farm systems. He’ll pair with new Philadelphia hitting coach Kevin Long, whom the club hired away from the Nats last month.
Howie is a good man. Good for him.
Great man
Lifetime BA of .294. Make him the hitting coach.
I am a huge Fan of Howie Kendrick from Day 1.
He’s better than some of their active roster. It’s a pretty cool hire though.
Yep, this just about clinches the Phillies outcooling the Mets this off-season. Granted, the bar has been set kinda low.
HOWIE! Love this dude, happy to have him back.
angels should have extended howie, bengie molina and erik aybar.
I always wondered what the special assistant job pays.
I’ve always wondered what the special assistant job does? Does anyone know? Is there a difference b/w “special” assistant and just plain old, assistant? If so, what is it? Either way, stoked for Howie!!
Let’s just say he’ll know how Fuld and DD take their morning coffee…
Nah. HK’s a bright guy; thought he’d wind up in a FO some where. Good training atmosphere with the highly innovative Fuld and the (even if he is a bit “old school”) Dombrowski.
Andrew Dawson and Tony Perez $85k each per year before Jeter and Co. took over the team and fired them both. They were pretty much present through ST and home games and acted as sounding boards.
It’s really pretty self explanatory, first let’s look at “Special” now say someone starts complaining about the preferential treatment Howie gets, “Why does Howie get to come in late, why does Howie never have to bring in the donuts , why does Howie get to park in front, etc”. Management just looks at said complainer & says, “What are you an idiot, he’s special!”
Now, “Assistant” on the other hand is little bit trickier, it’s from the French -which btw is never a good thing- and it basically means arrivederci baby.
So there you have it, hope that clears it up for you. Carry on. Ahahahahaha!
Hilarious
But, when I was in third grade, I was having a hard time keeping up. They sent me to some lady who faces me all these tests….she said I was “special.” I’ve been special ever since. No one gives me good parking or let’s me come in late.
Also, you got a problem with French maids, French Fries and French bread? How about French dressing? I like all those things!
And to drink…Peru.
He’ll be the first special assistant to have his own bobblehead day.
id be down for that
Mike Rizzo, you missed the boat on this one. *sigh*
Zakly…another missed opportunity by the Nationals to build a winning culture…
Great for Howie. Always seemed like a great guy.
I have to say I’m very pleased with all of their front office and coaching staff hires this offseason. It really paints a picture of a positive culture change and an environment of fresh ideas. Let’s hope that now translates into on field performance.
Professional hitter. Good man.
“Atta boy Howard”. – Mike Scioscia
Happy for Howie and sorry the Nats didn’t make this hire.
Maybe they can activate him mid season when they need another utility guy.
At the very least, Howie is one more voice in the room to drown out whatever idiotic proposals Klentak may make. BTW, why is Klentak still around? Guy effed up big time over five years as the GM. Kick him to the curb and be done with him.
Howie Kendrick just became the most liked front office guy in Philly named, Howie.
He may be Girardi’s replacement if they go 500 again and don’t reach the playoffs.That is what special asst to gm means.