Larry Parrish hired as Braves hitting coach (updated)

You have got to be kidding me. Only hitting coach one year and in the minors at that!

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First.

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ha ha…..Joel and Alex you lose….congrats Nittany Lion!!

Sorry DOB, I know that was your line.

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Another typical Atlanta move. “He was a good A, so naturally for us he’s a perfect choice to be Q”

At least we can remember the 90s fondly.

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I’m guessing he’ll be here as long as Chipper Jones is playing and doesn’t want to become a hitting instructor in the organization.

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Biff Pocoroba must have been busy…

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All you Presley haters satisfied now???

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Any insight as to what the Braves saw in him that would make him a good hitting instructor? Impressive resume, but I only see one year as a hitting coach. The Braves are a major league team and as such need to have major league expectations of their staff.

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FAIL

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Ditto JRS

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Thanks DOB !
I was wishing for Greg Walker but Larry Parrish is a great pick. Go Braves!

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ah i took to long to read the article before i typed first

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didn’t larry parrish play basketball for the Celtics?

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I always thought a “Hitting” coach should be someone that can “HIT” ? .263 ? TP was .270 and you see what that got you

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not first is a sore loser he or she wasn’t first.

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Hey Fish, that was funny…..actually that would be Robert Parrish….lmao!

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love the hire

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GT Fan……Presley haters had nothing to do with it.
This was a management decision and I believe it was a great move. LARRY Parrish will be just fine and so will Fredi and the Braves…………

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I thought Chipper’s Dad was gonna be the hitting coach?

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TXDawg…..I wholeheartedly agree with your comments….someone fresh to the organization/motivated to prove his worth…..

good selection as far as I’m concerned.

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I was hoping it would be that slugger Ken Oberkfell

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I love CRACK

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I hope he has fresh ideas like ” don’t watch strikes go by’ and “don’t swing at pitches in the dirt”.

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Joe in So Cal:
Come on now! You have NO idea what kind of hitting coach Larry Parrish will be. The Dodgers were one of the worst hitting teams this year – much worse that the Braves even. Who was their hitting coach? Must have been someone who was a really poor hitter as a player. Oh that’s right, it was Don Mattingly.

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as long as he wasn;t a student of charlie lao welcome

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Why couldn’t they hire the psychic that could channel Ted Williams? Geez….

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Let’s see how things pan out before we declare this move to be a success or failure. Parrish may have a very limited resume as a hitting coach, but he was a solid MLB player and has handled other coaching and managerial positions with some success.

The argument that he only has one year as a hitting instructor is kind of like Hanley Ramirez telling Freddi Gonzalez that he was never a Major League player; it’s a blanket dismissal of the man without giving him the chance to prove his worth, and makes no logical sense. For instance, I honestly don’t know what Leo Mazzone accomplished as a pitcher before joining Bobby Cox’s coaching staff, but what he did with three young pitchers (Glavine, Smoltz, Avery) developed them (and others) into some of history’s best hurlers. If Parrish fails then it’s a bad move by the Braves; but until then let’s reserve our judgment. It CAN’T be worse than 2010 under him, can it???

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Joe in So Cal

Parrish does have pretty good power numbers, especially for a catcher in his era. It doesn’t matter, though, because he wasn’t hired to actually hit the ball. I get what you’re saying about his lack of experience as a hitting coach, but he’s a good baseball man, and deserves a chance. His major league numbers are pretty meaningless in the situation.

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I was hoping for Tom Paciorek.

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Billie read what Wren said about Teaching…if you can read.

Great pick up Fredi…Go Braves

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Three holdovers on the coaching staff? I guess Terry Pendleton doesn’t count as a holdover since he is now just the first base coach. I think Terry should have been the bench coach. Heck, I could coach first base. If I remember anything about Parrish, he was prone to striking out quite a bit…should fit in well with the free swinging Brave hitters.

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What a joke — read into what Wren did with the late season moves

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Bashing the hitting coach hire… you jokers are hilarious!

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Damn, I thought I would get the hitting coach job!

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Well you can’t please everyone…..

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Its true there is some debate as to whether a hitting instructor can actually make a difference at the Major League level. My above comments were really more of shot at the mindset of Frank Wren and what he thinks of as “very impressive”. Thats the part the scares me the most. I really would not like to see another off season of acquisitions similar to last years where we need to count on people having career years. One, possibly two people on the roster doing that is reasonable but not everyone you pick up.The past being the most relevant to future behaviour, its a bit disconcerting no?

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When Jason Heyward gets into a slump next year I don’t know if you wnat him going to a hitting coach with no proven experience with MLB hitters to fix his swing. Are you comfortable with sending Heyward or Prado or anyone to this guy for help? Granted McCann will go to his Dad and so will Chipper.

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I should have applied for the job, considering no experience was necessary.

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I liked Larry Parrish as a player and I look forward to what he will bring to our coaching staff. I also like how we hear speculation about one candidate and we end up with someone else. It’s almost as if it’s Frank Wren’s style to go away from what everyone else is expecting.

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for those who talk about his only one year of being a hitting is going to be his downfall–are you kidding me?? wow!! lets see he has been a Manager in BOTH the major and minor leagues, he has been an assistant coach in the major leagues, and he has been a major league scout!! Now seems that being a hitting coach requires communication and understanding how your players are thinking and feeling. So, all of those different positions Parrish has held would help in understanding how his players are thinking. i mean, for all you who are screaming about “experience,” we have had a guy doing the job for what 12 yrs that has had 12 yrs to be terrible and not able to communicate to his players. Parrish has so much more experience up and down the line in so many different areas of experience that he can bring to helping Braves players be better hitters

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Bobby Dicks ?…. no-bama had no experience for President?? Damn I see what you mean.

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5 words……Oddibe McDowell.

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Yea DOB is a baseball Genius! you can tell by that sweet leather jacket !

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The more things change the more they remain the same.I think this manager is a fluke.Marlins have good management,and if this guy been worth a crap he would still be with Marlins.

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I hope he does a great job, but I’d rather see someone like Howie McCann, Brian’s dad.

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So many tools on this board.

Rudy Jaramillo is probably the best hitting coach out there right now. He never even made it to the major leagues. He only played 4 years in the minors with a career batting average of .258.

At this point, anyone would be better than Terry Pendleton. He’s been the hitting coach since 2001 and it’s very clear his voice had become stale.

All of you griping about this sound like Hanley, who criticized Fredi for “never playing in the big leagues so he doesn’t get it”.

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Fish Bisch, I’ll buy your tickets, thanks.

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This is a good pick, you haters let it go…your expectations for hitting coach were far too high. An argument could be made that he couldn’t do any worse than TP, so give the guy a running head start and lets see how he does….

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Is it too late to put Parrish at first and Pendelton at hitting coach?

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How many of you guys ever here of Dave Hudgens? It would be my guess not many. He is one of the most sought after hitting coaches in the game. What he says is the gospel from the major leagues all the way down to tee ball. Now we can throw around names all day but very few guys really know how to teach hitting. And Dave Hudgens is one of those guys he is the guru. Its not Chippers dad or McCanns dad. Yea, it worked for Chipper and they are great players. But Larry Sr. caught on with a MLB team as an instructor or running camps for MLB players? I know he doesn’t need the money but if he has a special gift would he not want to share it with someone other than chipper and some high school kids?

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I find it amazing that there are so many experts on pitching, batting, and managing out there who have never been involved in professional baseball decision making or playing. I wonder how they came to think they know so much.

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@Terry – Howie McCann doesn’t need the job and wouldn’t take it if offered. Besides, it would suck having your dad on the team as a hitting coach if you were the starting catcher, know what I mean? I mean if you’re going to go down that path, then why not have Larry Jones Sr. as the hitting coach???

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Now lets get a power hitting outfielder and fill a few more holds and play ball.
Man the escorting of passenger Jet to JKF is a problem..Military and air problems are real problems. NOT the hitting Coach.

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Parrish may do very well, I dont know much about him I admitt, but man what a splash… Did we interview either Chipper’s dad or Mcann’s dad, they never made the big leagues either…..

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Anyone looked up stats on the year he DID serve as hitting coach? That might change a few minds if those players were improved under him.

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BDawg asks the perinent question, namely what Parrish has been doing since 1999. He has apparently managed the Toledo Mud Hens since 2003.

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gotta be better than TP…………right?

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Willing to give him a chance, but wish he had a proven track record as a hitting coach. There are great coaches without great stats, but there are so many career .300 hitters around — like Chipper — who should be great coaches. Since when do we rely on Detroit for advice ?

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Don Baylor had a career batting average of .260 in the majors. Parrish hit .263.

Nate McLouse hit .187.

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LOL, wait, he wasn’t a catcher, I guess I just took one of the other bloggers as that being a fact. He was more of 3B. Anyway, jsut thought I would clear that up. Still though, his hitting numbers aren’t MVP type, but were still very good for the era.

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Honestly. You know nothing about what it takes to be a hitting coach, the process they went through, etc. For anyone to say right now that this is a disaster is asinine. And as for the “if you didn’t hit/pitch in the majors, how can you be a hitting/pitching coach” crowd, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Mike Maddux was mediocre at best in the majors. Rudy Jaramillo only played in the minors. And on and on.

Please – if you don’t know what you’re talking about, just don’t say anything.

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fjr, that is our point, as thankful as we are to have the best catcher in baseball, our tired beat up catcher shouldnt be leading the team in home runs. I hate this though, who care about hr? 5 singles in a row score more than waiting for the one big bop…just hit man

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STH, the thing about just hitting the ball is that you can’t really guide the ball for hits. A hitting coach isn’t going to be able to teach a player how to get more hits and hit for a higher average, unless they can teach the player to hit more homeruns and strike out less.

The only thing hitters can control is whether they strike out, walk or hit homeruns. Everything else gets a hit about 32% of the time.

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Guys….263 avg….that is average, but he’s a coach/teacher. hopefully he’ll be working with players with more talent/ability than what he had. Give him a chance, he’s an up grade over TP, and I love TP..but he didn’t get it done. If he can teach better than he hit, we’ll be fine!

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I was hoping for Lance Parrish, not Larry. Didn’t Larry strike out a lot?

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well i agree but i do not care about teaching hitting hr, i like how you say and agree with you when you say tech to not strike out. I want to see someone to teach these Braves to choke up when having 2 strikes, or heck even quit looking for a certian pitch and just react when having 2 strikes.

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well larry didnt strike out when job hunting this year lets hope he can translate that to our hitters

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I like old fasion play, dirty uni’s, and hit it where they arent, and I do not mean in the stands. I love a homerun, but hate to see a player trying to hit one.

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I didnt say you were..I was referring to your prior post about waiting on a big bop…just letting you know that Freddi waits on that just like bobby did…no stealing, no hit and runs, no bunting…etc…no small ball

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Do as I say, not as I did…Some people know how to hit but just don’t have the talent do execute. I think this will be a good hire. I don’t think he is going to be our long term solution though – I think Chipper is…But this will do in the short term.

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Every major leaguer can “HIT” .. once you get to that level its all about adjustments – I just feel that TP didnt have the ability to help hitters adjust to how Pitchers were getting them out..Hopefully Parrish can do a better job with helping guys adjust

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If career batting average is so important in a hitting coach, then the Parrish-haters should all grab shovels and go dig up Ty Cobb.

FYI – Parrish’s career OPS+ is 107 with highs of 146, 128 and 121.

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80-82, 4th place in the NL East. Fragile Freddie Freeman .212 5 hr 39 RBIs … need I say more.

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This guy used to kill the Braves when he was with the Expos. Like it better than Presley. Hitting .263 back in the day wasn’t so bad, with the power he had.

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I don’t know much about Larry Parish but I’m going to trust that Fredi and the management know what they’re doing. Looking forward to next year. Maybe we’ll have legitimate starters at all 3 outfield spots!

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“I’ve already phoned the ticket office to cancel my season tickets.” – Fish Bisch

Yay!! That means more tickets for real Braves fans! Thankyou!

As for the hire, I am optimistic about it. I remember Larry Parrish, he was a solid ball player and has apparently had some experience as a coach. Most of the people bashing him just like to hear themselves bellow. It’s a shame that we have to sift through all the ignorant comments to actually read some good content about baseball. GO Braves!

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All of you folks stating that Chipper or McCann will look to their dads (or own mentors) for coaching just help to prove the point about hitting coaches. It takes two to coach. The Chippers and McCanns of the baseball world don’t really need a batting coach except just for tweaks. The players who need a good batting coach are (a) young players and (b) veterans who are in a rut with the same hitting approach they’ve always had. If Parrish has good, fresh ideas and approach to hitting to offer to (a) and (b), then Hallelujah — if the players choose to listen.

As many have commented – - Ted Williams (.342 career avg., 520 HRs) was a notoriously impatient hitting teacher and coach – - his four years as a manager didn’t help his teams hit, as they finished 4th, 6th, 5th, and 6th in their divisions. On the other hand, a journeyman catcher with a .255 career average and 16 career HRs became widely-regarded as the best hitting coach ever. Charlie Lau taught his hitting style to some of the best hitting teams of the 1970s and 1980s – - the ‘69 Orioles, the ‘70 A’s, the ’70s K.C. Royals (with Brett, Wilson, Mcrae, Otis), the late 70s-early 80s Yankees, and the early ’80s White Sox. Here’s hoping Parrish fits in the Lau mold.

After all, as Braves fans, we should recognize that – - to be the best in the business as a coach – - you don’t need to have been a great player. See Cox, Bobby and Mazzone, Leo.

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First…

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ya buncha dipwads…if hitting stars made the best coaches, then the Braves would have had Hank Aaron as the hitting coach all these years and they would have surely won 14 consecutive world series titles…

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I hate to say it, but using the reasoning that the move is great because the Braves made it is more sound than saying it is terrible because I read a very short article about the guy … lol. Even if you had personally interviewed the guy, I might still be inclined to trust the people who have spent their career in baseball rather than someone who likes to blog about it.

Granted, blogs are all about opinions, so you are welcome to yours.

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Keep in mind that some of the Greatest coaches and managers never were stars when playing or even if they ever made the majors. So I know everyone is entitled to their opinion, but give the man a chance and see what he can do. It is only one year contract anyway.

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TP did an awsome job concerning what he had to work with. They need more diversity on the team and not all of those kids from Cobb County. You can have the best hitting coach but if you don’t have any talent you may as well pack up and go home!!!

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Ghost of Gil Garrido – Thanks for the Charlie Lau mention. I agree strongly.

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Greg Norton didn’t get the job?

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Jesus Christ himself could improve the Atlanta Braves offense – they need to make a deal or two from outside the organization…or get lucky with someone of the cheap who has a great year.

It’s unfortunate but it’s the way it is and has been and will be for close to four years in a row.

So this Parrish hiring – Meh. Whatever.

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Good hire. I know LP and he is very smart and will relate to players very well.

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i never truly understand how a player who himself had what i would consider a not so great batting average, get to teach other players about hitting? i just dont get that! Same with Mark McGwire, how is it that your techiniques which did not pay off for you yourself, all of a sudden gonna help another player take off, i mean i guess you teach from experience, and what you know, and if it did not do great things for you some how it will for others. I was personally hoping for DON BAYLOR, but i guess he either turned down the Braves, or another team took him already, i know Blue Jays did not hire him as their manager, so I really thought we had a chance, being that he was here once before. Anyways, i’ll stay quiet and see how he does, but lets just say, i am not too impressed!

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Hey- At least he picked a new hitting coach. Imagine the comments here had he decided to keep Pendleton on as the hitting coach! Give the man some credit and time to prove himself. Geez.

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for the record Don Baylor was a 260 career hitter. It doesn’t matter how well you hit it’s about how well you can instruct. Give the guy a chance.

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D id you ever stop to think that the beloved LARRY is the one that gave JH the hitting advice that causes him to meltdown? Chipper had forgotten how to hit himself! Why should he suddenly remember how to teach anyone else? Chipper was a case of too many cooks in the kitchen and the team will be better off when he goes.

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wait a year and then begin to start throwing insults at parrish. regardless of the experience, sometimes all it takes is a change of face and approach.

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Do a massive search-and-replace on all the “TP”s in the blog archives and you’ve got a great preview of next year’s posts in-hand. Now, if Diory Hernandez hits .350 next year and nails down the starting shortstop job then I might start to believe a hitting coach is something more than a dinner and drinking partner for the pitching coach.

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He will likely be better than TP. Anyway, just because you are a great hitter does not mean you can teach people to hit. Anyone think Manny Ramirez could teach anybody anything? The point is those people who did not have as much talent as some of the other hitters in the league probably had to focus on mechanics, scouting reports, etc and had to develop good hitting habits instead of relying on talent alone. If they can provide these good habits to others, then they will be a good teacher.

One of the worst teachers I ever had in college was brilliant, widely recognized among peers and publications as one of teh finest economists around, but he was a HORRIBLE teacher. He could not understand why we did not get the concepts he relayed to us. To him, they were easy to grasp, but not to us. Give me a guy who can relate to what other players are going through and had to work through their own issues. I think they are the best teachers and I think Larry could be that.

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all you guys bashing him listen to this…
He hit three grand slams in a week (July 4, 7, and 10, 1982), tying the MLB record set by Jim Northrup. he compiled four career three-home run games, including one instance where the home runs came on consecutive bats, and is one of only eight players to accomplish the feat in both leagues (Babe Ruth, Johnny Mize, Dave Kingman, Cory Snyder, Darnell Coles, Claudell Washington and Darryl Strawberry are the others) so i think he is a pretty good hitter so get off his back

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Go to the MLB website for the Toledo Mud Hens and you will find their individual hitting stats (and pitching) for 2005 through 2010. You will find some impressive players. In a quick review, noted Omar Infante played a bit for him and had an OPS over .800 walking over 10 percent of the time (he did not walk much for the Braves with a semi-Francoeur approach at the plate). Rookie star Brennan Boesch played for him and so did Curtis Granderson and Marcus Thames and Carlos Pena to name just a few. Of course, he also had some really big names go through the team when recovering from the DL such as Magglio Ordonez.

He won more games managing Toledo than any other manager in their long history.

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Larry Parrish is going to be a great addition to the Braves coaching staff.Man knows the power of the bat.Played ball with him back in our younger days,good cudos on his hire.Makes the game fun again.

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Probably a good hire. This summer I heard a discussion on MLB radio about the job he did in Toledo and how a great teacher/instructor he is. I guess we will have to wait and see… but I like this one better than TP or Pressley.

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The man is an upgrade … PERIOD!

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How many hitting coaches do you really know by name? Come on guys you don’t know THAT much about baseball!

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addition by subtraction in my opinion.

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The manager and coaches have one job, observe, instill and encourage, thats all, but it works when you have the right group working together to form the team, new year coming and a new approach in process.

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Sounds like the guy just might make a difference. His hiring reminds me of yet a 3rd Parrish, Lance who pounded the ball and caught a good game for Detroit. Wonder what he’s doing now?

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Parrish has recently been managing the AAA Toledo Mud Hens, it seems. A couple of International League titles a few years back. Managing a team in the minors, there is a lot more coaching to do than managing in the majors, so Im sure he knows how to coach players. Im happy with the hire. We will see what it does for the teams approach and if it makes any difference at all. Nothing to do but sit back and wait.

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Mike Maddux couldn’t pitch either. Enough said.

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Supes
October 29th, 2010
2:52 pm

I’m guessing he’ll be here as long as Chipper Jones is playing and doesn’t want to become a hitting instructor in the organization.

Yep…makes things easier to offer the hitting instructor position to Chipper when he’s ready to retire. It’s pretty much his job, or at least it should be.

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People make up your $%#@ing mind. First a lot of people didn’t want Presley becasue he was the manager’s home boi. Now you knock this dude because he’s only coached in the minors. These fans sometimes trip me out and don’t know what they want.

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What a bunch of DORKS. Give the guy a chance.

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a hitting coach is a lot like a pitching coach. you know what makes a good pitching coach? good pitchers.

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Good luck Coach Parrish. You probably never read this blog, and I suggest you never do. Thanks for the update DOB.

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@New Era: HAHAHA that’s funny! Yeah, I hope he doesn’t read the blog either. A lot of negativity here.

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Maybe this is just coincidental, but Parrish as Detroit’s AAA team managed the kid the Braves picked up over the summer for the outfield, Winton Ramirez who at one time was a Detroit top 10 prospect.

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I like how he plans to mix if up knowing that each guy is an individual hitter. Hopefully we can see his impact this season. (Listening to the Social Network soundtrack right now, it’s great!)

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The “Curse of Glen Hubbard” will forever haunt da braves!

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As Artie Jonhson(of rowan & martin’s laugh-in fame would say)VERY INTERESTING BUT NOT SO SMART!!!!

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What is this obsession that a guy had to have a .320 lifetime batting average to be a good hitting coach? Perhaps the three best over the past couple decades – Lau, Hriniak and Jaramillo never topped .260.

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Wow, some of you people are ridiculous! A guys hitting career (or lack thereof) has nothing to do with their ability to COACH!!! As DOB and some others have mentioned, many think highly of Rudy Jaramillo and he was a below-average minor league player. On the flip side, Ted Williams, thought by many to be the greatest hitter ever, was known to be a bad coach when he was with the Senators. Someone’s hitting career is not a proper judgment of their teaching abilities. Some people on here are clueless…

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Now the ignorant have someone new to blame when things go bad.

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Parrish had one of the best days at the plate ever seen at old Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, hitting homers in the third, fourth and fifth inning of a 19-0 Expos defeat of the Bravos in July 1978.

http://rowlandsoffice.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/larry-parrish-owes-us/

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Some of you folks just don’t think before you post. Being a great hitter depends on a lot of stuff other than technique – reflexes, vision, strength, etc. It’s entirely possible for a great teacher of hitting to not possess the other stuff necessary to be a great hitter himself. Does it take a great gymnast to teach gymnastics? Is Jack Nicklaus the only one capable of being a great golf coach. I suggest we wait and judge him on his results as a hitting instructor.

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Love the fact that Larry Parrish bring new ideas and different out look from other origanizations to Braves. We needed new blood in coaching positions. New life to a non-exciting team. I wish Fredi and Parrish and other the best of LUCK . Down and dirty baseball I hope. Welcome to Atlanta.

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Moderated,I meant.

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I like the hire. But can anyone tell me which is the better “good ‘ole boys’ club?” Our highly esteemed Congress, Senate, state legislatures — or Major League baseball? Oh, I forgot about the NFL. How many times can you get “fired” and then pop right back up as some other team’s coach?? It boggles the mind! Reeves FIRED! Shows up as Falcon’s head coach. The list is endless in the NFL. Just goes on, and on, and on……

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when wren speaks he should just sut up! he has no credibility any more!

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[...] Parrish as hitting coachRotoworld.comBraves Name Larry Parrish as Hitting CoachAtlantaBraves.comLarry Parrish hired as Braves hitting coachAtlanta Journal Constitution [...]

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I remember all of the Wren bashers, from this time last year,
Give this new coach a chance people.

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Larry Munson never went to Georgia… … The Bull Dogs should have hired an announcer that could call a game. You all knew Larry was going to be a bust when he was hired.. right…..

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At this level what does it really matter??? Perfect example= What did Jarimillo bring to the Cubs. Duh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Or Leo;s handling of the Bird’s pitching stafff. Ouch..) You have to have hitters before you can have a hitting coach. Come on Wren, get use a couple “BigBats” …then we will can sing the praises of how Parrish has turned us around….

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Well, at least Cox will be gone.

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IF he can manage to get thru to these kids and they listen, this could be a real important addition. His hands-on approach & interaction with the players would be nice if a mutual trust develops. These kids need a little guidance to get their confidence levels up when they’re struggling… let’s see how Larry goes about his business…

Speaking of Larry, in this case Chipper Jones, I’ve always thought that him being a hitting coach was a natural after his playing days are done. Go figure…

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What was wrong with TP? The Braves were a good hitting team over the past fews years. Right???

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I like the Parrish choice. I would have been fine with Presley. I didn’t have any problems with us keeping Pendleton as the hitting coach either.

A hitting coach can make a small difference, but they rarely cause a player to slump. It’s their job to get a player out of a slump. About the only thing that can be done to hurt a player is to tell them to become less or more aggressive. It changes their whole approach and almost always spells doom. The problem is, those orders don’t come from the hitting coach typically. That’s an organizationla philosophy usually set in place by the head coach.

Any of these guys can and would have likely done a good job.

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Copied from a George Brett’s Bio “In an effort to boost Brett’s average, Royals batting coach Charlie Lau worked with Brett on hitting to all fields on every type of pitch. Brett soon learned to adapt to any pitch, instead of merely waiting to crush fastballs. Meanwhile, Hal McRae, acquired by the Royals the year Brett came up, taught him aggressive base running. The results spoke for themselves: Brett led the American League in hits and in triples in 1975. His batting average climbed to .308. ” Lau played MLB for about ten years,. The most hits he had in a season was 73, RBI’s 27 and BA .255. Yet he was considered a good / great Hitting Instructor. “Lau served as batting coach for the Royals from 1971 to 1978 and taught his spray-hitting style to Hal McRae, Amos Otis, Willie Wilson and George Brett. Other hitters to use Lau’s method include Carlton Fisk, Frank Thomas and Mark McGwire.” ” Lau developed a list of “Absolutes” about hitting, which included:
A balanced, workable stance;
Rhythm and movement in the stance (as opposed to standing still);
A good weight shift from a firm rigid backside to a firm rigid frontside;
Striding with the front toe closed;
Having the bat in the launching position as soon as the front foot touches down;
Making the stride a positive, aggressive motion toward the pitcher;
A tension-free swing;
Hitting through the ball;
Hit the ball where it is pitched, rather than try to direct it.”

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Larry Parrish was a good choice. He was a good hitter in the majors and I wish him well.

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Just a little information for us all to ponder about Larry Parrish…….let’s give the man a chance. Sounds like he’s eager to help and can bring in some fresh blood to the organization.

* Two-time All-Star (1979, 1987)
* Hit three grand slams in a week (July 4, 7, and 10, 1982), tying the MLB record set by Jim Northrup
* Compiled four career three-home run games, including one instance where the home runs came on consecutive bats (July 30, 1978), and is one of only eight players to accomplish the feat in both leagues (Babe Ruth, Johnny Mize, Dave Kingman, Cory Snyder, Darnell Coles, Claudell Washington and Darryl Strawberry are the others)
* four league championships as manager:
o 1993 (Niagara Falls of the New York – Penn League)
o 1996 (Jacksonville Suns of the Southern League)
o 2005 and 2006 (Toledo Mud Hens of the International League)

[edit] See also

* List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters

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In fairness to Wren if he is willing to part with pitching talent (majors and minors) he can accelerate the end of the near misses but it will come with a risk.

I don’t envy this guy. He is walking a tightrope between trying to win now and not mortgaging his team’s future.

If Liberty would give him some room he could do more but it appears that isn’t in the cards.

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The interesting quote fromParrish in the DOB preamble was that he came to the Braves, as opposed to some other organization, because he felt he could make a difference here. There is not much he can do, or need do, to “make a difference” for Chipper, McCann, Prado, or Omar, and He’s not going to make much of a difference with established players like Gonzo who set in their ways and have been semi-successful. If he really thinks he can make a difference and has convinced mgt. that he can, then he must be referring to players like Heyward, Freeman, and to a lesser extent, people like Diory, W. Ramirez, and Schafer, whom he is most familiar with from his time in the IL. Heyward had some holes exposed late in the season and stopped hitting the ball where it was pitched. His last solid line drive hit was the HR off Niese in the Met series in early September. If Parrish thinks he can make a difference here, it is because he thinks he can make the needed adjustments for Heyward and Freeman to allow them to live up to their potential.

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If I were the new Braves hitting coach, I would simply get all the position players together before each game and tell them to get off their a@@es, get out there and make me look good, otherwise they’ll be ripping me a new one daily on the AJC blog.
And why do people want to see Arthur Blank pushing Chipper around in a wheel chair in foul territory at every game? I don’t think that will guarantee us any more wins but I could be wrong.

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Enter your comments here

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Well …. anyone is better than TP as Hitting Coach, but .263 career avg Larry Parrish???? Guess Hulk Hogan turned down the job? Just kidding! Hopefully this turns out to be another one of those brilliant Braves moves where they hire someone who didn’t exactly have a stellar MLB career (or didn’t even make it to the bigs …. hmmm who was the last one that fit that bill? ……. Oh yeah, one Mr. “5 yrs until HOF Call” Bobby Cox!

Welcome to Braves Nation Mr. Parrish. We’re diehards like the rest, just not recognized as such.

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wren has done a great job with the ownership he has liberty should be able to sell the team soon i sure hope mr terwillger or mr blanks or best of all mark cuban are waiting in the wings when this franchise is sold to someone who like ted turner will infuse finances into it we will have a winner i think frank wren has done quite well with his hands tied i think the hiring of larry parrish was a great move

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Klesko Fan

October 30th, 2010
1:44 pm

Well …. anyone is better than TP as Hitting Coach, but .263 career avg Larry Parrish???? Guess Hulk Hogan turned down the job? Just kidding! Hopefully this turns out to be another one of those brilliant Braves moves where they hire someone who didn’t exactly have a stellar MLB career (or didn’t even make it to the bigs …. hmmm who was the last one that fit that bill? ……. Oh yeah, one Mr. “5 yrs until HOF Call” Bobby Cox!

Welcome to Braves Nation Mr. Parrish. We’re diehards like the rest, just not recognized as such.

I think the rules for managers is different after age 65 if they retire i believe it is 6 months to be eligible.

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DOB does this rule make Bobby Cox eligible in 2012 ????

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Look, folks. Try to think of the new hire’s expertise in this manner: we all sit here at home and KNOW we know how to run things better than the current team manager, base coaches, hitting coach, players in the field and when the players are up at bat.

We all KNOW we know how to do most everything better: better hires, better contracts, lineups, pitcher rotation, bullpen use, game management, execution of plays, steal situations and pitch selection. We all KNOW better, but none of us has ever played in the majors, have we? He’s been on the field a lot more than we have, and we could coach with our eyes closed. He at least has some experience.

Coach Parrish, show us what you got. Let’s see if we all can BANK ON IT!!

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Wren said. “He likes to work, he likes to makes an impact.”
this sounds like a REAL GOOD start…………….He likes to makes something

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WOW if it were magic some people would have people posting in the majors……. Does a track coach coach speed or does a track coach refine technique to take advantage of the natural talents of runners….. Same with a hitting coach….. hitting is first a natural gift, then confidence…… What player has made it to the majors that batted under 200 from high school…. just would not happen

The job of a pitching coach is to see what a pitcher does well and why…….. Posters (some) need a posting coach…. not to hit the keys but to help with logic….. Hitting coaches look better with Sheffield, Drew, Chipper, Crime dog ….. think about it TP would be better with the Cardinals

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Well, at least Bobby is gone.

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DOB, maybe you can’t predict whether Parrish will be a success or not, but I can. He’s going to be mediocre just like this whole organization has been mediocre since it was purchased by Liberty Media. The only thing that will ever change the mediocrity of this franchise is a real (not a corporate) owner, to whom the front office and manager will have to be accountable. Until then it will just be more of the same.

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Give the guy a chance. ANYBODY would have been better than TP. He destroyed hitters and their confidence. Andruw and Frenchy come to mind first. A real hitting coach would have corrected those flawed htting styles. I would challenge anybody to name one player that struggled at the plate that TP ever helped get back on track.

Ok – just because he never hit .300 does not mean he cannot teach others. In golf, Ledbetter and Haney are two of the best instructors around, and they never won a major tournament, and were never on the PGA tour. However, they coach players every week who are PGA players and have won majors. Just because they were not blessed with the skills required to win does not mean they cannot teach others. The same applies to baseball, tennis, etc. Let’s give Parrish his opportunity to succeed before we say he is not capable. The players need a different approach and style – TP has been killing them.

Good luck Larry. Get Jason on track please. TP was killing him! Get B Mac, Chipper, Nate, Diaz, etc hitting like they can. Prado and Infante were both struggling near the end – fix those guys too. I think it’s too late for Lee, Ankiel, & Glaus – hopefully Wren will make a good trade for a #4 hitter in the off season. Frank W – try not to give away the ranch to get a 4 hitter like you did for Texiera. The Rangers are still loving you for that trade.

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If hitters won’t listen to the hitting coach (and there are some of those on every team), then he can’t help them. He doesn’t go into the batter’s box, either. Ultimately, it’s up to the hitter, to hit.

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.255 avg., 16 dingers, 140 rbi’s, 3 stolen bases – major league numbers for arguably the best hitting coach ever in Charlie Lau. I’m guessing most MLB folks that have been around a while would consider him or Walt Hriniak, who learned his trade from Lau to be the most impactful. For those not familiar with the guy and the names Hal McRae, Amos Otis and Willie Wilson, who learned from Lau, don’t ring a bell maybe the names, George Brett, Carlton Fisk, Frank Thomas and Mark McGwire, who also learned from Lau and/or his method, do. Parrish may be great or terrible in the end, but to use his batting statistics as a measure is just idiotic.

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SERIOUSLY GUYS IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BASEBALL YOU KNOW HIS 260 BATTING AVERAGE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT KIND OF COACH HE IS OR WILL BE…LEO MAZZONE WAS A MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER AND ONE OF THE BEST PITCHING COACHES OF OUR TIME YET NEVER PLAYED IN THE MAJORS…RUDY JARAMILLO (CHICAGO CUBS HITTING COACH) ONLY PLAYED 4 YEARS IN THE MINOR LEAGUES NEVER A SINGLE GAME IN MLB BUT HE IS PROBABLY THE BEST HITTING COACH OF OUR ERA…HE WAS WITH TEXAS FOR A LONG TIME ALONG WITH OTHER TEAMS AND HE HAS DEVELOPED NAMES LIKE JEFF BAGWELL, JUAN GONZALEZ, IVAN RODRIGEZ, MARK TEIZEIRA, MICHEAL YOUNG, ETC….MILT THOMPSON IS PROBABLY THE NEXT BEST AND HE WAS ONLY A 274 CAREER HITTER…..BOTTOM LINE IS YOU DONT HAVE TO BE A GREAT PLAYER TO BE A GREAT COACH….JUST TO PROVE MY POINT AGAIN HOW GOOD A PLAYER WAS BOBBY COX????

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If you notice, the better hitting coaches in baseball are career .250-.280 hitters. You cannot teach a particular player how hard to hit the ball, all you can do is show them how to hit the ball and what to do to correct mechanics. Your .300+ hitter isn’t likely to be a productive coach over the long term due to the fact that they were such good hitters. Your hitting coach that is a career .250-.280 hitter has alot more to show/teach hitters basically because they had more instruction while they played. The hitting coach cannot hit the ball for you, all they can do is teach. TP was a career .280+ hitter and you witnessed the job that he did (and he was a MVP player with a batting title under his belt!)

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Do you guys really think the reason Smoltz, Glavine and Maddox were good was because of Leo? I bet even Cox could win with those three in the rotation. Oh, wait a sec……

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James Taylor…stupid people make stupid posts….he with out a doubt helped smoltz, glavine, and maddox….some of the others that shined under leo are denny neagle, john burkett, russ ortiz, jaret wright, damian moss (do you even know who he is?…it is a fact that average difference in a pitchers era will under leo is -.63 thats over half a run every 9 innings and it doesnt include the big 3….dont believe me check out this link: http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2005/03/the_mazzone_eff_1.php

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I really am shocked that Leo hasn’t picked up a pitching coach gig somewhere in the majors. I mean, you can’t blame Baltimore’s pitchers inability to listen on him. We all know that Leo is kicking himself for leaving Atlanta.

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wow…I have a passion for hitting…a great work ethic and I like to have an impact on people….maybe I should get my resume out there.

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It doesn’t matter who they hire, the overall team batting average will not improve until they get a big power hitter in the middle of their line-up, to protect Chipper & Jason. I think Jason Dunn from Cinn, is available, put him in the middle and hire me as hitting coach and watch the improvements.

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Who in the HELLLLLL is Jason Dunn from Cinn. Tdagd in Stockbridge Duh!!!!!!!!!

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MUTTS, being a good hitter means nothing if you can’t lead. Terry Pendleton was a better hitter than he was as hitting coach.

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I like the Parrish hire. When the Braves were looking for a pitching coach to replace Leo, they got advice from around the league that led them to Roger Mc. That hire sure worked out. It seems they followed the same approach in hiring Parrish. I like the looking both inside AND outside the orginization for the right guy.

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We should withhold judgement until we see how this works out. There is no way to know in advance how effective he will be. However, the situation is difficult to understand – a hitting coach with almost no experience and and his hitting background is as a slugger with a low BA – but you never know. Also, keeping McDowell is difficult to understnad when he has had a significant, significant number of pitcher injuries every year since coming to the Braves. Of course, this may or may not be his fault, but it does not speak well for his conditioning program or his overall handeling of pitchers. There have been so many injuries under McDowell, it would seem that the Braves would at least try something else.

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Fish Bisch

October 29th, 2010
2:56 pm
didn’t larry parrish play basketball for the Celtics?

way tooo funny

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Norris u know the real reason?

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It seems that the opportunity that finally, finally came to make a clean break with the Cox influence and the Cox way of doing things – is now probably being wasted.

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Pendleton had no previous coaching experience before they hired him. At least Parrish has been a successful coach in the minors. Just because we haven’t “heard” of the experience he has doesn’t mean he’s not qualified.

If you all remember, people were like “what the heck” when they hired McDowell after one interview because he impressed them that much. So that tells me Wren is a pretty good judge of character, so why not trust him here.

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I think I’m starting to come around on the change in hitting coach. At first I was a little miffed, because I like Terry Pendleton. Maybe I was madder that he was not even interviewed for the manager job. But I’m glad he was not fired completely. TP is a great baseball man, he knows the game beyond just hitting, and the Braves will be better by having him on the staff compared to Hubbard and Cadahia.

But now that they’ve hired Larry Parrish and with some of the comments made, I think this might be a refreshing change and add to the overall coaching staff’s value. I think TP was very good from the standpoint of “approach at the plate” I think that’s fairly obvious given the high on base percentage this team has hand (particularly once they got rid of stubborn holdouts like Andruw Jones and Jeff Francoeur).

But maybe Parrish has a better acumen for “mechanics at the plate” which comes in handy when a hitter loses his way. Sometimes when you aren’t making the good contact you want, taking a lot of pitches only serves to make you more vulnerable to pitchers. So maybe Parrish can keep Braves hitters mechanically sound to go along with the sound approach that TP cultivated with these hitters.

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Thanks for hiring my brother, Braves. But I would have been a better choice. I was an outstanding defensive catcher and I could fix that part of McCann’s game. I also hit .281 career-wise with power before the steroid era. If I had played in 1998 I would have hit 80 homeruns.
Anyway, did I mention that I was a great defensive catcher ?

I like listening to Johnny Cash too. Only when there’s absolutely nothing else to listen to…

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Larry can do as much as TP did I promise you. He loves to eat sunflower seeds and sit around and do nothing.

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Can’t get worse.

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I recognize the name, I think I had a few of his baseball cards back in the day. Other than that, it’s a wait and see attitude for me. I know nothing about the dude. My crystal ball says, this is Chipper’s last year. He’ll take the following year off and then he will become the Braves hitting coach in 2013………

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When it was reported that Pressley was interviewed for the Job of Hitting Coach, some of you wrote that Freddi was doing so because he worked with Pressley in Miami, now that he hired Parrish some of you still have a gripe. Sorry guys that he did not hold a referendum or conduct a poll to get input from all of you.
Some of you even stated that Parrish only coached at the Minor league Level as if that matters. Guys just relax and stop believing that you all have the answers for everything, yes we want the Braves to be successful, but I am more concerned with who they sign in free agency to play left field and centerfield than who the hitting coach is.

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ty

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