Hitting coaching has undergone drastic changes in recent years with the rise of advanced data and technology, but new Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez wants to turn back the clock a bit with his approach, or at least turn back the complexity of modern hitting.
Speaking to reporters at New York's minor league camp, Chavez said he wants his players going up to the plate with a clear mind, which he believes means less clutter from numbers and information provided prior to their at-bats.
"Hitting is so complex," Chavez said. "There's different philosophies and things change…but really, I'm going to simplify things with the players here. We want them going up to the plate with as little information as possible. We want their athletic ability to take over.
"Most good teams get on base a lot, swing at strikes and they hit the ball pretty hard. We're going to focus on those things."
That doesn't mean Chavez, a 17-year big-leaguer, won't pour over the data himself. But he wants to refine how much of that data reaches his hitters, wanting to keep it as simple and profound as possible.
"We want the information to filter…we're going to help them," Chavez said. "We're going to use as much information as we can, and hopefully players will get what they need and perform at their best."
The Mets looked like a team in need of a philosophy change last season, as the team collectively finished 24th in the league in team OPS, while typically elite hitters like Francisco Lindor struggled for most of the season.
Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith, and Jeff McNeil were other hitters who took a big step back.
Chavez was also asked about his very brief tenure as a Yankees assistant hitting coach, which lasted just weeks before he was hired to Buck Showalter's staff. But Chavez and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had a preexisting agreement that if a hitting coach or bench coach position opened up, he would be able to pursue it.
"Honestly, the history of everybody, we all knew each other and worked together before," Chavez said. "It was up-front and honest and direct right from the beginning. Things were talked about and laid out from the very beginning, so the chances of something happening, it wasn't new to anybody. We kind of anticipated it if it did come up.
"Just being honest and up front about what the situation was. Cash, he granted me permission to do that if the opportunity presented itself."
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