What makes a good hitting coach? What makes a good pitching coach? Obviously, being able to communicate with the players is the biggest part of being a pitching/hitting coach. But what about past experience playing baseball. Let's face it, if Willie Mays or Hank Aaron were hitting coaches, everyone would listen because of their past success at the major league level. If Juan Marichal or Tom Seaver were pitching coaches, you'd be a fool not to listen and heed their valuable advice. Their past success gives them instant credibility. But what about those coaches who had little-to-no success at the major league level? Do players still want to take advice from a coach who hasn't had success at the major league level?

In most cases, players will be receptive to advice, but looking at the stats of all MLB hitting and pitching coaches, it's staggering just how many of the coaches had poor major league careers. And playing Devil's Advocate, as I so often do, I couldn't help but wonder how a coach who couldn't find his own success at the major league level, could help others achieve that goal.

To give you an example, if Alex Rodriguez is slumping, and he has 532 career homeruns and is destined for the Hall of Fame, would you want advice from your hitting coach, Kevin Long, who never played a single inning at the major league level? You can't help but wonder how this process pans out. Here's a look at some of the eye-popping stats.

Pitching Coaches
Mark Wiley (Marlins pitching coach) was 2-3 with an ERA of 6.06 in his MLB career. Reds coach Dick Pole was 25-37 with a 5.05ERA, Jeff Andrews (Pirates) had no MLB experience, Dewey Robinson (Astros) 2-2 with a 4.05ERA, Bryan Price (Diamondbacks) had no MLB experience, Darren Balsley (Padres) had no MLB experience, Dave Eiland (Yankees) was 12-27 with a 5.74 ERA, Brad Arnsberg (Blue Jays) was 9-6 with a 4.26ERA, Rick Kranitz (Orioles) and Chuck Hernandez (Tigers) had no MLB experience, Don Cooper (White Sox) was 1-6 with a 5.27ERA, Rick Anderson (Twins) was 4-4 with a 4.75ERA, and Mark Conner (Rangers) had no MLB experience. Most of those names are relative unknowns except for their respective team cities. And that list doesn't include others like John Farrell (Red Sox) 36-46, Mike Butcher (Angels) 4.47ERA, and Bob Apodaca (16-25). What exactly qualifies these former players as pitching coach material? If Randy Johnson is struggling, does he take advice from Bryan Price who never threw a pitch in the majors?

Unfortunately, it's difficult to decipher whether or not there is a correlation between coaches stats and their team's performances. Mel Stottlemeyer (Mariners) who had the best MLB career of any current pitching coach (164-139 2.97ERA), has watched his Mariners pitching staff implode this season. Other successful former pitchers such as Dave Righetti (Giants) and Bob McClure (Royals) have also watched their pitching staffs struggle mightily. Larry Rothschild (Cubs) is the only pitching coach who was successful as a pitcher (66-46), who has a first place rotation. And then there's the case of Dave Duncan...who is widely considered to be one of the best pitching coaches in baseball. Duncan never pitched an inning in the majors....because he was a catcher. Former catchers should easily make the switch to pitching coach, because they were responsible for calling games, and they were able to spot flaws in a pitchers game. Yet, despite Duncan's success, it is rare to have a former catcher become pitching coach. Duncan is the lone catcher turned pitching coach currently.

Hitting Coaches
When Prince Fielder struggles at the plate, does he turn to his hitting coach, Jim Skaalen, who has no MLB experience? When Jason Bay slumps, does he turn to Don Long, who has no MLB experience? Rockies hitting coach Alan Cockrell had 8 at-bats in his career. What about household names such as Gary Denbo (Blue Jays), Derek Shelton (Indians), Joe Vavra (Twins), and Ty Van Burkleo (A's). Oddly enough Rudy Jaramillo has been successful in Texas despite having never played at the major league level. And no wonder the Tigers are struggling at the plate, when they have a career .244 hitter in Lloyd McClendon as their hitting coach. Of course, being a successful former player doesn't guarantee success either. Carney Lansford (Giants), Wally Joyner (Padres), and Howard Johnson (Mets) have all tried in vain, to revive their team's slumbering bats. However, semi-successful former players like Greg Walker (White Sox), Dave Magadan(Red Sox), Mickey Hatcher (Angels), Brook Jacoby (Reds), and Hal McCrae (Cardinals), have enjoyed long term success.

Of course, all this means is that there is no exact science as to how a hitting and pitching coach succeeds. Past success doesn't guarantee success in the coaching ranks, and past failures doesn't guarantee failure as a coach either. But I can't help but wonder why a team takes a chance on a former player who was unsuccessful while playing in the major leagues. And again, I wonder how a future Hall of Famer takes hitting instruction from a career .220 hitter. Perhaps the hitting and pitching coaches play a small role that doesn't quite have the impact the average fan thinks they have on their team. What contribution does a pitching coach make? How much do we credit the player, and how much do we credit the pitching coach? Do we commend Dave Righetti for what he's done to develop Tim Lincecum, or do we condemn him for allowing Barry Zito to go 2-11 this season?

Hitting and pitching coaches are important in the development of young players, but all too often it seems to be hit or miss. The success of a coach may just come down to how well they are able to communicate with players. Then again, it may just come down to how talented a pitching staff or offense the General Manager provides to a coach. Flip a coin.



Court Adjourned!