It’s tempting to look at the way the Braves have evolved offensively, notice that it generally lines up with how Kevin Seitzer wants them to hit, and give the first-year coach the bulk of the credit for the positive changes.
It’s not that simple because the Braves purposely built a roster with more contact hitters and fewer free-swinging sluggers. Taking a micro view may be the better way to gauge Seitzer’s influence on Braves hitters.
Two Braves in particular, center fielder Cameron Maybin and shortstop Andrelton Simmons, credit Seitzer with helping them improve their hitting approach. They say Seitzer’s emphasis is relatively simple: Focus on hitting the ball through the middle rather than pulling it, and all good things flow from there.
Maybin is on track for a career-best year at the plate and said Seitzer has been a positive influence.
“He’s been really good with me having conviction with my approach,” Maybin said. “It’s been a huge part of the success this year.”
Simmons spends a lot of time in the video room analyzing his swing and his at-bats and it’s in there where he said he’s most come to appreciate Seitzer.
“The thing I like about him is he listens,” Simmons said. “He takes the feedback and gives you what he thinks. He tries to work with you, not just (insist) what he thinks everybody should do.”
Major league hitting coaches are in a strange position. Big-league players (especially veterans) already know how to do what may be the hardest task in sports, consistently hit big-league pitching, so what can a coach tell them?
Seitzer said he understands this dynamic. He hit .295 over 12 big-league seasons and coached hitting for the Royals and Blue Jays before joining the Braves. Seitzer said coaching big-league hitters is more about providing feedback than instructions.
“You have to show them what you see; they tell you what they feel,” he said. “Then when you go watch video and break it down you come to a common ground where they agree, ‘I see this is wrong.’ Then you have to find out why.”
Seizter said he tries to keep it simple because players “get too much stuff going on in their heads to where they start to short-circuit with their swing.” He said he wants players to focus on hitting fastballs through the middle because trying to pull the ball requires committing to swinging too early.
Then again, Seitzer said, players can’t wait too long because “you don’t want to swing when the ball is in the catcher’s mitt because they are expecting something soft.” All of those variables is why Maybin said a good hitting coach can be valuable.
“I think we can all use help,” Maybin said. “It’s good to have an extra set of eyes on you, especially up here where the little things are so important. The little things, sometimes we don’t see.”
After producing the franchise’s four highest strikeouts totals over the past four seasons, the Braves decided a big part of the problem was their hitters not doing the little things often enough. So they hired Seitzer and assistant hitting coach Juan Castro at the same time they revamped the roster.
The results have been positive. The Braves have increased their runs per game from 3.54 in 2014 to 3.90, a 10.1 percent improvement that is third-highest in the NL behind Arizona and San Diego.
Among the 15 NL teams the Braves rank tied for fifth in batting average (.256), seventh in on-base percentage (.318), second in sacrifice hits (37) and tied for sixth in sacrifice flies (18). In 2014 the Braves ranked 11th in batting average (.241), 10th in on-base percentage (.305), 13th in sacrifice hits (53) and last in sacrifice flies (27).
The Braves this season have the lowest strikeout percentage in the NL (18.2), rank seventh in walk percentage (7.7), and third in balls-in-play percentage (70). Last season they ranked 13th in strikeout percentage (22.6), seventh in walk percentage (7.8) and 13th in balls-in-play percentage (66).
It’s tough to determine exactly how much Seitzer is responsible for the dramatic change in the team’s offensive profile. Players and manager Fredi Gonzalez say Seitzer has been a good addition and cite his organization, attention to detail and passion for hitting as positive attributes.
“Everything,” Seitzer said when asked what he loves about hitting. “From my experience as a player and a coach, there is a perspective. And the biggest perspective I never, ever forget is how hard it is to do.”
