Hitting coach Tim Hyers has declined the Red Sox’ offer to return in 2022 and will not return to the staff, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. He’s instead exploring opportunities with other clubs. In his place, the Red Sox are set to promote assistant hitting coach Peter Fatse to the lead hitting coach role, per Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald.
The 50-year-old Hyers has spent the past four seasons as hitting coach in Boston and spent the two prior seasons as the Dodgers’ assistant hitting coach. The Sox have been one of the game’s best offensive clubs during that time, and Speier notes that Hyers worked with both Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts to overhaul their approaches at the plate prior to the 2018 campaign. Hyers is the second coach to depart the Red Sox organization this offseason, as chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom already announced during his end-of-season press conference that first base coach Tom Goodwin wouldn’t return to the organization.
Fatse, 34, was a 2009 draft pick of the Brewers (24th round) after playing his college ball at the University of Connecticut. He spent two years in the Brewers’ system and another two years playing on the independent circuit before retiring as a player. He previously served as the Twins’ minor league hitting coordinator before being tabbed as the assistant hitting coach to Hyers heading into the 2020 season.
The Sox still need to replace Goodwin on the staff, and while they’ll handle the departure of Hyers with an internal promotion, they’ll still need to fill the assistant hitting coach role as well. There’s no indication yet as to how they’ll proceed. The team has not formally announced the shakeup to the hitting coach mix but figures to do so before long.
another one who doesn’t want to work with Cora
Maybe; but I see Cora as an excellent manager. If he’s “too tough” then too bad.
He a cheater
coach – is there any evidence that Cora has cheated in 2021?
Wait, how do you know this has anything to do with Cora?
Not yet!!…..but will be
Driving good people out of the organization is not a good quality of an excellent manager.
Again, how does anyone know this has anything to do with Cora? Is there a public statement anywhere?
My statement was a rebuttal to Coops thought regardless of the truthfulness of the statement.
These coaches coached in 2018 and 2019 when Cora was the manager, if you were’t aware
I wouldn’t want to work with a trash banger either
Hitting coach seems to have serious blind spots… lack of hitting in clutch … runners on
Plate discipline with runners on.. lack of aggressiveness on hit and runs…base running lazziness..LACK of aggressiveness on bases to distract pitching…
Slow to diagnose bad hitting habits etc…
So very imperfect tactics and executions.. small ball situation failures
FYI pburns, it has been reported that Hyers was asked to return, but with Fatse tabbed for promotion to co-hitting-coach. It wouldn’t be at all surprising to find out that he declined because he didn’t want to share the role, and seems a heck of a lot more likely than him not wanting to work under a guy he has worked under before.
Makes sense.
Brewers hitting coach,
one can only hope
Maybe he can figure out why JBJ fell off a cliff.
Well, maybe more of a stoop than a cliff.
A little young to be the top dog on hitting mechanics and to thoroughly know the art of hitting which can be a difficult science nowadays. IMO. Hope it works out.
Thirty-four is too young to be a hitting coach? The Cardinals just hired a 35 year old manager.
He is an anomaly and will be a yes man for the organization.
So why didn’t he say “yes” to the extension offer?
*he = not Fatse.
Huh? We were talking about the new St. Louis manager not Hyers
Why?? $$$$ is probably why.
Maybe he felt his value, based on his track record, was worth more than the Sox offer…
Probably has nothing to do with Cora, his age or other nonsense mentioned in the comments.
Also, where his or his wife’s family lives may be important?
Who really knows.
Charley Lau was a hitting “guru” with a career .255 average. Pete Rose called Billy DeMars the best hitting coach he ever had. DeMars had a career average of .237
As long as you understand it. Age or playing talent makes no difference.
Good comment on DeMars but looks like he was at major league level for coaching in 1969 which would have made him about 44.
I believe that Charley was the first major league hitting coach. He had great success with many players, and his influence extended beyond the teams he coached for.
Basically Charley encouraged hitters to take measured swings with a bit of a downward stroke. He tried to get guys to connect and hit line drives, feeling that at times HR’s would come.
The philosophy of bat speed in the zone brought about lighter bats (we now calculate “exit velocity)”. With the theory that strike outs are acceptable as connecting for HR’s cures all ills (including forever hitting into shifts), MLB hitting coaches turned to teaching battters what we now have – increased K’s for the better part of over 20 years, low batting acreages, anemic levels of balls being put in play, uppercutting swings to get “launch angle”, and combined with the bat speed – fans are supposed to go gaga over instant calculations on their TV screens of how hard, far, and high the HR was hit (unfortunately, when it carries over the fence it’s only counted as one run + another for each runner on base…..as it’s always been).
Stick around. There will be more changes to hitting styles over the next 20 years.
@samuel. Major league hitters today are being taught TO do everything taught NOT to do in little league for 50 years.
As a kid, if all you did was strike out, swing at bad pitches, take strikes, hit fly balls and weak grounders, you either sat on the bench or didn’t make the team! Somehow this has been relabeled as a recipe for success. I guess that’s why era’s and whip are so low for pitchers with any kind of command.
Maybe to my
New York
If I remember correctly, Fatse was associated with a fairly new company that touted video analysis of hitting mechanics. My guess is that he was hired to implement that system, and Boston has liked the results enough to want him to continue to lead the way on that. So, if anything, what he brings to the table regarding hitting mechanics is precisely what he is being promoted for.
Tim could be a good candidate as far as new Hyers are concerned.
Thank you…….. Thank you…… I’ll be here all week
That comment was kind of like forcing a fart…
Well, it beats farcing a fort.
Fort Knox – where they keep all the gelatin.
Wet and messy?
Welcome to the Tigers.
Wonder if Geddy (Rich Gedman) will ever feel like going back to every day grind of being on the field every day of the season instead of just now being a MiLB instructor, like he’s been for years now for the Sox? Great attitude as remember when he was just a kid when he played for the HaSox all those years ago and perfect teammate.
Thought when read he 1st came back into coaching he was being groomed for managing, but nothing really ever changed with him.
Retirement is great! A part time job is enough for many people. Look at the record number of people calling it quits.
Welcome to the Padres.
seriously though. i know a lot of us padres’ fans (there’s dozens of us, dozens!) have enjoyed the melvin hire but this legit sounds like just as crucial of a guy to bring aboard as any other coach in the game.
You can “coach” all you want. If the players can’t or fail to “execute” the plan or better hitting approaches, the coach will look bad. Some players are more coach able than others. Age or what you hit as player before you coached doesn’t matter.
@goodlir
I have to think a player making millions of dollars at the major league level would have issues with being told how to hit by someone who has never experienced any kind of success away from a computer or video game.
Can you imagine a building foreman being told what to do by someone whose only experience is knowing how to play Sims?
I think he was involved in helping JD Martinez. With the exception of 2020 COVID season, JD’s bat has been huge for Boston.
Lol
Actually, JDM became his own hitting coach after leaving Houston. He was already analyzing Miggy’s swing when he signed with the Tigers. Not much changed when he got to Boston (other than his paycheck).
JDM famously is a self video analysis fiend, and likes to check out some video even during games to help with adjustments. Reportedly, Covid restrictions prevented that practice in 2020, and the return of the practice likely helped him a lot in 2021.
Hyers to the NYYs. He would have an easy act to follow.
Giants just lost one of their hitting coaches to the Rangers. Hyers worked closely with Kapler in LA. Wonder if he’s SF bound. He’d be a good replacement for Eckler.
Yankees need a hitting coach
The Mets can really use a hitting coach. They better not pass up on this opportunity
Good move. Go Sox!
Not sure if the Yankees replaced Thames.. if not, they need to hire this guy.
pirates new hitting coach
Was thinking the same thing.
Welcome to the Indian Guardian Spiders
They will always be known as the Cleveland Steamers to me.
I’d love to see the Steamers logo on a cap.
Fatse Domino
Come to the Bronx
Big opening there. But can a guy of white privilege replace a black in NYC?
Join the Dark Side in NY.
Cubs!
Heading to Chicago
Sox will hire Joey Cora as the first base coach
I’d like to see Worcester Manager Billy McMillon get promoted up.
Peter Fatse.
The ball team of Peter Griffin has a new hitting coach with that last name.
.
Bring him to the Bronx!!