Frank Wren’s most prominent coaching hires as Braves general manager have produced a mixed bag of results.
Roger McDowell, one of baseball’s best pitching coaches in his nine seasons with the Braves, was hired by previous GM John Schuerholz, also the one who intervened last winter to keep McDowell from jumping to the Phillies.
Wren, who was fired as GM on Monday, removed Terry Pendleton from the hitting-coach position and shifted him to first-base coach after the 2010 season, replacing him with Larry Parrish. The Braves went from first in the National League in on-base percentage (.339) and fifth in runs (738) under Pendleton in 2010 to 14th in OBP and 10th in runs (641) in 2011 under Parrish, with almost the same lineup.
Parrish lasted one season before he was replaced by the tandem of hitting coach Greg Walker and assistant Scott Fletcher. The Braves finished seventh in the league in OBP in 2012 and were fourth in 2013, the year they also led the league in home runs and were fourth in runs.
But Braves hitters collectively took big steps backward this season, and the team is ranked 10th in the NL in OBP, next-to-last in runs and 12th in homers, despite bringing back every key hitter from 2012 except Brian McCann. Walker and Fletcher aren’t expected to be brought back next season.
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