No new hitting coach for Yankees until the end of the holidays

The New York Yankees have put their search for a hitting coach on hold until the end of the holidays, according to Brian Cashman.

Somehow the name of Jeff Pentland has popped up. Pentland has not been approached by the Yankees’ organization yet, but he is quite positive on joining the team: “It is a great city and a great organization.”

But when I look to the team hitting stats of the teams he was hitting coach for in the past decades, I wonder if this is the guy they want. From 1996 through 2011 he has been the hitting coach for the Marlins (1996), Cubs (1997-2002), Royals (2003-05), Mariners (2005-08), and Dodgers (2010-11). In only three seasons his teams were in the top section of their league regarding team batting average; for the rest those teams were in the lower half of the league, sometimes even dead last.
I must admit that the most teams that he joined were rather crappy, so maybe it is not fair to say. But I think it is an indication that Pentland may not be the guy that the Yanks are looking for. On the other hand, before Joe Torre joined the Yankees, his winning record as a manager wasn’t something to write home about either.

Other names that have been mentioned are those of Yankees’ minor league hitting instructor James Rowson and former Yankee Marcus Thames.

Now the search has been halted, maybe we may conclude that the search for a hitting coach is even more difficult than we thought.

I would like to end this post with wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.