Six Former Yankees Who Could be the Next Hitting Coach

Apr 17, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees batting coach Kevin Long (54) works out prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Long is gone! Long came aboard in 2007 and in the eight season’s since, the Yankees have fallen deeper and deeper into an offensive abyss. Many Yankees fans thought the 2013 season was as low as our boys could go as the Bronx Bombers finished dead last in the AL East in every offensive category. That was of course, until this season.

The 2014 Yankees were one of the worst offenses the Bombers have ever thrown onto a baseball field. The 1991 Yankees team finished 71-91, for example. That awful baseball team scored 41 more runs than this year’s Yankees, driving in 39 more. This year’s Yankees didn’t even drive in 600 runs (finishing at 591) because they didn’t hit. Finally, after three years of not hitting, and finding every excuse to save Kevin Long’s job, the Yankees brass realized when the team doesn’t hit, the hitting coach must go.

So, who’s next? Who is the savior to return the Yankees to their Bronx Bombers status. I’m sure the search won’t be solved over night, but what if the Yankees were to turn to a former Yankees player as the next hitting coach? Here’s a look at five former Yankees that would be interesting in the role. (Author’s note: former Yankee players only. I would love to see Denbo back, and should Mattingly get fired, the job should be his.)

Jorge Posada

I love Jorge (and yes, I pronounce it George). He has been getting a lot of steam as a possibility as the next Yankees’ hitting coach. I simply never envisioned Hip Hip Jor-ge as a hitting coach, however. He was a tough-nosed, vocal, club house leader. That doesn’t necessarily mean he should become the next hitting coach for the Yankees because the slot is open.

Jorge, to me, is more suited for a bench coach role. Like I said, he his a leader. He is not the guy to shy away from confrontation like Joe Girardi, and if you’re playing like a bum, Posada would most likely tell you. The problem is the relationship between Posada and Girardi and the conundrum if that dynamic could work. Girardi was already driven out of town by Posada once, he’d probably be afraid it would happen again!

Willie Randolph

Randolph was a scrappy hitter in his day and was once a co-captain on the Yankees. Sure, I am aware that he has failed as a manger, but a hitting coach and a manager are two different things. He has been a bench coach, a base coach and a manager, so to say he has the experience is an under statement. He also played and managed under the bright lights of New York City, winning World Series and division titles. He has the moxie.

Again, this is a Yankees team that has to get back to the basics. Randolph was never a superb hitter, but he made his living with a decent career batting average (.276) and an even better on base percentage (.373). These current Yankees have guys that know how to hit home runs. They need guys who can get the base hit, like Willie used to, when they need it most.

Jun 7, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Cleveland Indians designated hitter

(25) watches the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Indians defeated the Rangers 8-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Giambi

Calm down. Before you go nuts and think I am out of mind, remember one thing. Steroids or PEDs don’t make someone a good hitter, they simply make them a stronger hitter. There wasn’t a more feared hitter in baseball that Giambi from 1996 to 2006. He wasn’t just a feared slugger, he did it all. He led the league in walks, doubles and on base percentage while batting in the mid-.300s annually. Sure, the wheels came off when he got popped and came clean, but the man is 43-years old and still hitting a baseball better than Brendan Ryan and Stephen Drew.

Giambi has also been more or less a coach for the Rockies and Indians the past few seasons. He simply doesn’t want to hang it up, but after batting .113 last year, perhaps he has seen the light. He has the leadership and the know how of being in a major league dugout, especially in the Bronx. I remember being at a game that every Yankees fan was booing him for stranding runners, and then he hit a bomb that I still don’t know if it has landed yet.

Tino Martinez

Part of the greatest era of Yankees baseball of many of the new generation of Yankees fans. As a player, Tino never did anything extraordinary at the plate, but he simply did everything well. Every day. Every year. He was a guy that could hit .290, smash 30 home runs, drive in 120 and score 95 more. Plus, he played on a Yankees team that prided themselves on manufacturing runs, not just blasting home runs to score. He was a batter in a Yankees line-up that understood you get to a pitcher by taking pitches and wearing them down. He is perfect for what these Yankees need.

The problem is Tino failed miserably as a hitting coach last season for the Miami Marlins. He resigned halfway through the 2013 season after allegations of physical and verbal altercations with players. Now, while those Marlins finished with on of the worst offenses in major league history, let’s give Tino a break. That team was a minor league baseball team.

His best players aside from Giancarlo Stanton, like Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna, were barely in the bigs by the time he resigned. While you can say that this season’s 2014 Marlins improved incredibly after Martinez left, this season’s team barely resembled the offense he had last season. I think if Tino got another shot and something to work with, he could succeed.

Paul O’Neill

If you’re worried about Tino’s checkered past with run-ins with players, maybe Paulie isn’t the best bet to run the team. This is a guy that would beat the hell out of water coolers when he struck out, could you imagine what he would do if one of his players struck out? That’s precisely why I want O’Neill to land the job.

The man is nicknamed The Warrior for crying out loud. He was what baseball junkies label a professional hitter. Paulie’s career in the Bronx was nothing short of sensational as he finished with a .303 batting average and a .377 on base percentage. Like Tino, he was part of the era of Yankees baseball that took pitches and made runs happen, they didn’t wait for them.

O’Neill has the fire this Yankees line-up has been missing for two years now. He is a familiar face to the players as he still serves as a broadcaster for the YES Network and even threw his name out for the Reds’ managerial position last season. Paulie claims he doesn’t want to coach, but maybe with the right pieces in place, he can be swayed.