Following the departure of hitting coach Brant Brown, who’s set to join the Mariners’ coaching staff, the Marlins have promoted assistant hitting coach John Mabry to lead hitting coach, reports Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Miami has also hired former American League batting champion Bill Mueller as its new assistant hitting coach.
Mabry, 53, enters his second season on the Marlins’ coaching staff and his 12th year as a big league coach overall. A veteran of 14 Major League seasons who batted .263/.322/.405 from 1994-2007, Mabry joined the Cardinals’ coaching staff as an assistant hitting coach in 2012 and was later promoted to lead hitting coach in St. Louis as well — a role he held until the 2018 season. He also spent three years on the Royals’ staff prior to joining the Fish. He and Marlins skipper/2023 NL Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker were teammates with the Cards during Schumaker’s rookie season in 2005.
The 52-year-old Mueller will return to a big league dugout for the first time since 2018 — the final of his four seasons as Cardinals’ assistant hitting coach. He overlapped with Mabry throughout that entire tenure, so the two have plenty of familiarity with one another and a strong working relationship. More recently, Mueller worked with the Nationals’ player development department from 2022-23, and he’s also spent time as a special assistant and scout with the Dodgers in addition to a one-year run as the Cubs’ hitting coach in 2014. In parts of 11 seasons from 1996-2006, Mueller batted .291/.373/.425. He won a World Series with the 2004 Red Sox and won a Silver Slugger with Boston in 2003, when he hit .326/.398/.540 en route to that aforementioned AL batting crown.
Very good administrative additions and lots of talent and baseball field experts. This is just adding up to a great dugout and tram culture that will reap benefits now and moving forward. Hope ownership doesn’t mess it up. Also hope ownership invest in some valuables free agents not just budget ones. Need to learn from past experiences such as A.G instead of other better options at the time.
Needs at shortstop and catching can be accomplish with the rights moves. Marlins can be better doe a long while if they use their Capital wisely. Trading players like Jazz, Araez, can make the Fish a better more completed and better team now and for the future. But fear is a veey paralyzing force. But just think how much talent you can bring in for now and the future. Think Yankees, Dodgers, Tampa, Rangers louded with talent and looking to upgrade their teams.
But again Fear is a dysfunctional force.
It’s not necessary to trade Arraez or Jazz. Offer them extensions. And you don’t have to spend crazy $$ to build a great ballclub. All the front office has to do is start making the kinds of smart, innovative decisions that winning organizations (like the Rays) make, year after year. They need to prove they’ve got the right stuff. It’s not rocket science.
By promoting the assistant hitting coach she hired to be the hitting coach?
Yeah, that makes sense.
I love to see Billy Baseball as the Red Sox hitting coach! Good move by Miami I think.
Looks more like St. Louis than the Cardinals.
Building that Cardinals culture in Miami.
I would name him second half hitting coach.
Marlins name new hitting coach “maybe?”
No…Mabry
Thank you!
My favorite baseball movie.
“Tony LaRussa Avengers, Assemble!”
Two guys who certainly knew how to both hit and work a count when they played.
@Monkey’s Uncle
Hopefully they help create the right mindset and approach for our hitters in game situations. Next season, we need to crank up the bats and start scoring more runs.
Who wouldn’t like that Cardinals culture? Can we get Whitey Herzog too?
John Mabry giving instruction, while Billy Millah sits in the corner thinking to himself “I’m the one who won a batting title”