To begin the offseason, the Braves announced they had parted ways with a number of coaches, including long-time hitting coach Kevin Seitzer.
Seitzer spent 10 seasons in Atlanta, much of which was considered a success, none more so than the 2023 campaign. With him guiding the group, Atlanta’s offense had a historic year en route to an MVP award, multiple Silver Sluggers, and MLB records.
While everything went right in 2023, everything went wrong in 2024. The Braves offense not only regressed but was also injured for much of last season. From the Opening Day lineup, six of the ten starters missed significant time because of injury. That Opening Day lineup played a total of six innings together all season.
It was a disappointing result after such a magical season beforehand, but I don’t really know how much blame rests on Seitzer. Sure, the approach could’ve been better at times, which Chipper Jones shined a light on, but it’s difficult to put all of that blame solely on the hitting coach. Seitzer could have been saying all of the right things, but at the end of the day, the players have to put that coaching into action.
Unsurprisingly, another club saw all of the success Seitzer had during his time in Atlanta, which includes the development of Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, and Michael Harris II, along with resurgences from Jorge Soler, Travis d’Arnaud, and countless others.
On Monday, the Mariners hired Kevin Seitzer as their hitting coach, per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Seattle has struggled for years to field an offense to match their elite pitching staff, which has been the primary catalyst of their shortcomings. Now, they’re hopeful some of that Atlanta Braves magic will rub off on the Mariners with the hiring of Seitzer.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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