Big news out of Kansas City.
One day after the Royals hitting coach Jack Maloof gave an interview in which he claimed that home runs aren’t important, the Royals have demoted him and made a familiar face their new hitting coach:#Royals announce that George Brett and Pedro Grifol will assume the interim hitting coach and special assignment coach roles, respectively.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 30, 2013
In a corresponding move, the #Royals have reassigned coaches Jack Maloof and Andre David to the minor league organization.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 30, 2013
I am long of the view that a hitting coach can’t do an awful lot to help bad bats and can do far less to harm good bats than most people think is possible. But with Maloof’s comments yesterday and the serious lack of production by Royals hitters lately, there was a quickly-developing crisis of confidence among fans. Maybe putting the biggest name in Kansas City baseball history out in front will help matters. Maybe it won’t. But it definitely changes the subject .
