ATLANTA — The question I was asking Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer was about the challenge of adding multiple hitters from outside the organization in the middle of a season and getting to know them on the fly. I started with “It’s been a challenging year anyway, but ..
.” Before I could finish, Seitzer laughed hard leaned back against the dugout railing, and said, “If that isn’t the question of the century.” Advertisement Yes.
To say it’s been a challenging season for Braves hitters and their coaches is a major understatement. But Seitzer, MLB ’s longest-tenured hitting coach — it’s his 10th season with the Braves, four times longer than the average tenure of current hitting coaches — has been through the grinder of enough good, bad and in-between MLB seasons in 12 years as a player (two-time All-Star third baseman) and 16 years as a coach. He doesn’t let short-term success or failure consume him.
Seitzer was Baseball America’s MLB Coach of the Year in 2023, when a historically prolific Braves lineup led MLB in most offensive categories, tied the MLB single-season homer record (307) and became the first team to slug .500 (.501) in a full season.
#Braves ' Orlando Arcia on whether he stared at Bryce Harper in response to Harper staring at him after each of Harper's homers in Game 2 of the NLDS: “I was just enjoying my home run.” Harper on if he saw it: "No. I didn't.
I don't care. I couldn't care less. I already did it.
" — David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 22, 2024 But this year, Atlanta’s offense is ranked 12th in slugging (.413), 13th in OPS (.720) and sits in the bottom half of the majors in scoring (4.
3 runs per game), average (.241) and on-base percentage (.307).
In Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies , the Braves went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and got their only runs on an Orlando Arcia homer in the fourth inning. Arcia stared at Bryce Harper while rounding the bases after Harper stared down Arcia following each of Harper’s two homers in Game 3 of the Phillies’ NLDS win against the Braves in October. That was in response to Arcia’s “Attaboy Harper” comment overheard by a reporter in the clubhouse following Game 2, which ended on a double play when Harper strayed too far off first base and was doubled up.
Advertisement “I was just enjoying my home run,” Arcia said through an interpreter. “Last year was last year, I feel like we’ve already turned the page. We’re focused on this year.
” The Braves remain in playoff contention — they’re seven games behind Philadelphia in the division and third in the wild-card standings. That’s because of strong pitching performances, like what they got from starter Reynaldo López and the bullpen in a 3-1 series-opening win Tuesday against Philadelphia and from starter Max Fried on Wednesday. Fried had his best start since before the All-Star break and an injured-list stint for forearm tightness.
He worked seven innings and limited the Phillies to four hits, two runs and one walk with four strikeouts, both of his runs coming in the sixth. Reliever Joe Jiménez gave up a double and sacrifice fly in the eighth as the Phillies broke a 2-2 tie. Marcell Ozuna has been an absolute force, but no more than two or three other Braves hitters have been reasonably hot at any given time, and there have been times when it’s been just Ozuna.
“Last year was fun,” Seitzer said. “This year has been ..
. I won’t say the opposite, but it’s really far from last year.” He laughed again.
Not because he doesn’t care, but because he cares so much that he can only laugh to keep from crying. Or screaming. Seitzer knows the peripatetic nature of hitting and pitching coaches’ status and feels fortunate to have spent a decade working in an organization for people he respects and with a manager and players he loves being around every day.
But it’s probably a good thing that Seitzer, 62, does not go on social media. Not in the 2021 World Series championship season or last year, when fans were singing his praises, and certainly not this year when, well, most of them aren’t doing that. There’s really nothing to be gained on social media for most players and certainly not for coaches.
Advertisement “Especially hitting coaches when they’re stinking,” Seitzer said, smiling. “It’s like, everybody wants you hung. I don’t even look at the stuff.
Bottom line, every day I come in here, I just bring my ‘A’ game. This is the best I’ve got. I love these guys like my own kids, and you do the best you can to try and help them get going.
It’s been a grind this year.” The Braves have coped with extended slumps or injuries involving everyone in the lineup other than Ozuna, and three current starters – one-third of the lineup – are players released by other teams during the season. There’s Whit Merrifield , released by the Phillies and filling in for injured second baseman Ozzie Albies .
Ramón Laureano , released by the Cleveland Guardians and filling in for an injury-plagued outfield. And Gio Urshela , who was released Sunday by the Detroit Tigers and signed almost immediately by the Braves to fill in at third base after Austin Riley broke his right wrist when hit by a fastball Sunday. Urshela played spectacular defense Wednesday and combined with Merrifield on a slick double play against one of the majors’ toughest hitters to double up, speedster Trea Turner .
The Braves also traded for outfielder Jorge Soler , who played 13 games for Atlanta before straining a hamstring a week ago and didn’t play again until he pinch hit Tuesday and again Wednesday. Once healed, Soler will be back in right field — Ronald Acuña Jr. ’s position, before his season-ending torn ACL in late May.
Laureano should continue to get at-bats in a left-field platoon with Jarred Kelenic . Seitzer had time to use his usual approach with Kelenic this spring after the Braves traded for the former top Seattle Mariners prospect in December. But with all of the midseason pickups, there hasn’t been that luxury.
“I like to let guys play a little bit and let them do their thing, like when Nacho (Alvarez) came up,” Seitzer said, referring to the Braves prospect who filled in for Albies for eight games, but was optioned back to Triple A. “We just let him play. He was swinging it good down (at Triple A) and I just told him, ‘Just keep doing what you’re doing.
If you’ve got questions, ask. We’ll prepare you with the pitcher, the game plan and all that, but I don’t want you thinking.’’ Advertisement But that’s not his approach with midseason pickups signed to fill in for injured players.
“They come in open. They come in ready to make adjustments,” Seitzer said. “Yesterday we hit Gio with some stuff and he walked out and was like, ‘Man, that was awesome.
’ It was cool. And then we just roll and see where it goes.” Diving in head-first with midseason pickups is easier today with so much support from teams’ research and development departments.
The Braves have one of baseball’s best, and their analytics information is presented to players by veteran coaches who use the right mix, players say, of old-school knowledge and new-school technology. Which brings us back to that original question that I didn’t finish before Seitzer responded. About the challenge of working with multiple midseason acquisitions who are playing significant roles .
.. “It’s challenging, but it’s just kind of part of what you do,” Seitzer said.
“We’ve got guys upstairs (R&D department) who have the ability to do breakdowns of swings from when they were good versus not. I watch at-bats, I watch swings, watch their extra-base hits, just to get a feel for what they’re doing when they’re good, and what things look like recently. When they come in midseason, you don’t have time to mess around.
” By mess around, he meant the two or three weeks he might spend with such a player at spring training, watching him and talking with him before making some suggestions on his swing mechanics and showing him some things that the analytics department believes could help. The Braves have seen a big improvement from Laureano and Merrifield compared to their performance with teams that released them. Laureano hit .
143 with one homer and a .494 OPS in 31 games (83 plate appearances) with Cleveland. He was at .
284 with six homers and an .857 OPS in 35 games (100 PAs) with the Braves before Wednesday. Advertisement Merrifield hit .
199 with a .572 OPS in 53 games for the Phillies, and .259 with an .
800 OPS in his first 20 games with the Braves. He had a triple, double and walk in four plate appearances Tuesday in his first game against the team that released him. “It’s a good culture, great clubhouse,” Merrifield said.
“Guys here are welcoming. It’s a great fan base, and for me being a North Carolina boy, to be able to play for the Braves, growing up in Braves Country, it’s special for me. From a personal experience, when I got the call that Atlanta wanted me to come play for them, it’s an honor to wear the Braves logo on my chest.
So, I don’t take it lightly and I’m excited to show up at the park every day.” So is Seitzer, even in his 10th and perhaps most challenging season with the Braves. “Especially the guys like Laureano and Whit and Gio, you have conversations with them and they give you feedback,” Seitzer said.
“They say, ‘This is the way I’ve been feeling, this is what I’ve been doing, these are the adjustments I’m trying to make, blah blah blah.’ It’s not really us coming at them with, ‘This is what we want you do to.’ “Like I say, it’s a challenge and it’s fun, getting to be around new guys.
They’re coming in and we’re in the middle of a pennant race, and they want to help. So, man, they’re open to everything.” (Photo of Jorge Soler: David J.
Griffin / Getty Images).
