Mark Kotsay was named Padres hitting coach. Let that sink in. A guy with no coaching experience at any level was just named hitting coach for one of the worst hitting team's in baseball. I hope Bud Black knows what he's doing with this hire.
Padres Name Mark Kotsay Hitting Coach " Friar Wire
"We’re excited to bring Mark on board to our Major League staff," said Black. "Mark’s career as a player, teammate and team leader speaks for itself. His knowledge, work ethic, competitiveness and personality will greatly impact our Major League club as well as our entire organization."
When former hitting coach Phil Plantier was fired GM A.J. Preller described what he was looking for in a new hitting coach.
Padres fire hitting coach Phil Plantier | UTSanDiego.com
He added: "You want someone that you think can connect with hitters and get to their abilities, get them to overachieve, have a plan and vision and get them to institute it."
Not far removed from being a player, Kotsay can surely connect with hitters on some level but as a former teammate can he garner the same respect as an outsider could? More importantly can he get them to connect with the ball? That's what I'm worried about. Without any track record it's really tough to say how he'll do, but I guess we have no choice but to cross our fingers. I'd have preferred if he started his coaching career in the Padres farm system instead of jumping right into this critical position. Consider my confidence low and my general outlook to be concerned.
Kotsay: "I'm looking at this as an opportunity to get back into a game I love. Going in a direction where we foresee contending to compete"
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) December 1, 2014