Not even a week after Brian Snitker came out and said he expects his entire coaching staff to return for 2025, the Braves announced they have fired three coaches, including the team’s hitting coach, Kevin Seitzer.
Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes and catching coach Sal Fasano have been informed they will not be retained for the 2025 season. Each is under contract one more year. Braves wanted to give them a chance to land elsewhere.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 10, 2024
Assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes and Sal Fasano were also axed. The latter of which will not be replaced.
The Braves will hire two hitting coaches. They will not fill the catching coach spot that was created for Fasano. https://t.co/tVu8lIu5uN
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 10, 2024
Kevin Seitzer is the most significant move here. He joined the organization as the team’s hitting coach ahead of the 2015 season and helped the Braves offense blossom into one of the best in the league, which culminated in 2023, when the club broke a number of MLB records and tied the MLB record for most home runs in a season with 307.
However, after three consecutive piss-poor offensive performances in the postseason, the Braves must have felt it was time for a change. Atlanta went from first in runs scored to 15th, and while a lot of that can be attributed to a slew of injuries to top performers, their inability to adjust and perform situationally has been a problem for years, especially in the postseason. It’s something Chipper Jones recently discussed a little over a month ago.
“I’m old school man, and it’s not going away. Working with the Braves for the last couple of years has been very frustrating,” Chipper Jones said recently on the “Casa de Klub” podcast, via Sportsnaut. “Can’t stand giving away outs. I can’t stand strikeouts. Can’t deal with a guy on third, less than two outs, and hitting a ground ball to shortstop or second base.
“I can’t stand every once in a while not laying down a bunt for your best hitters. A hundred RBIs? So what. This is truly a ‘chicks dig the long ball’ kind of era.”
One has to wonder how much impact those words had on the decision to ultimately fire Kevin Seitzer, but it’s evident the Braves believe it’s time to go in a different direction. It’s hard to argue after three straight frustrating eliminations, but Seitzer’s entire tenure with the club should be looked upon fondly. He’ll surely catch on somewhere quickly if he desires to keep coaching.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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