The job of hitting coach for a major league baseball team is a rather unique one. It is a position that is often occupied by a guy who was once a successful major league hitter – usually a power hitter – in his time. There is no greater example of this than when the greatest hitter of all time – Babe Ruth – was named as coach of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1938 (with hopes of becoming manager). It was a complete disaster and got to the point where Ruth and then Dodgers player/manager Leo Durocher actually went to blows.

Although Babe Ruth put fannies in the seats at Ebbets Field during his very brief time as a Dodgers coach, he simply did not have what it took to be a successful coach or manager. (AP photo)

Another outstanding career hitter – Hall of Fame first baseman Eddie Murray – was also a complete failure as the Dodgers hitting coach, having lasted only one season until he was fired in June of 2007. In fact, when you look at the list of every Dodgers hitting coach since they officially created the position in 1977, there is only one who lasted longer than six consecutive seasons – Dodgers all-time pinch-hitting leader Manny Mota, who was the Dodgers hitting coach for an unprecedented ten seasons and now serves as one of the team’s Spanish broadcasters.

LA Dodgers hitting coaches:

• Jim Gilliam (1977-1978)
• Jim Lefebvre (1979)
• Manny Mota (1980-1989)
• Ben Hines (1985-1986, 1988-1993)
• Reggie Smith (1994-1998)
• Rick Down (1999-2000)
• Jack Clark (2001-2003)
• George Hendrick (2003)
• Tim Wallach (2004-2005)
• Eddie Murray (2006-2007)
• Bill Mueller (2007)
• Mike Easler (2008)
• Don Mattingly (2008-2010)
• Jeff Pentland (2011)
• Dave Hansen (2011-2012)
• Mark McGwire (2013- )

Here again, many of these guys were outstanding hitters in their day, but being able to hit a baseball and being able to teach someone else to hit a baseball are two entirely different things, and several of these former greats just didn’t have what it took to do exactly that.

So who, then – or rather what, then – makes a good hitting coach?

Without question, the absolute number one element of a successful hitting coach is the ability to communicate – that is, the ability to identify, isolate and articulate a problem(s) to a struggling hitter in a manner that they fully understand and can work on to fix. Easier said than done and not everyone has this God-given talent. The other enormously huge element is, of course, the struggling hitter’s willingness to accept help from others. But much like an alcoholic, the first step to recovery is admitting that they have a problem – something that enormously large, multi-million dollar baseball egos often struggle with.

As of today, Saturday, November 21, 2015, there is every indication that former slugger and current Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire will not be returning in that or any other capacity with the team in 2016. And although there has been no official word on this or the fate of any of the other Dodgers coaches from the front office yet, those announcements will probably occur shortly after a new manager is named – which could happen as early as this weekend but more likely early next week.

But even with the uncertainty of who will fill McGwire’s shoes, there is one guy already in the Dodgers’ minor league system who, quite frankly, is arguably more qualified to become a major league hitting coach than just about any current or former major leaguer – current Dodgers minor league hitting coordinator Damon Mashore.

“The guy standing behind you, Damon Mashore, he’s our hitting coordinator and he’s responsible for implementing our hitting programs and basically the offensive side of our game,” said Dodgers Director of Player Development and managerial hopeful Gabe Kapler at the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes’ home opener last season. “He’s done a tremendous job of sharpening our guys in the batters box and he’s going to do everything in his power for our pregame work to be efficient and effective.”

This is quite an endorsement coming from a guy who is favored to become the next Dodgers manager. And should Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi allow their new manager to bring in his own guys, there’s a pretty good chance that if Kapler is their man, Damon Mashore may be among them.

Although Mashore spent only three seasons in the major leagues, he has been in the Dodgers organization for the past 5 seasons as a coach and hitting coordinator. He is also very highly thought of by Dodgers managerial hopeful Gabe Kapler. (Image courtesy of Fleer)

Prior to joining the Dodgers organization in 2011 as an outfield and baserunning coordinator, Mashore served briefly as the interim manager of the Angels Advanced Single-A affiliate Inland Empire 66ers and was a hitting coach in the Angels organization from 2008-11. He previously managed the Missoula Osprey (Diamondbacks) of the Pioneer Rookie League in 2007. As a major leaguer he spent two seasons with the Oakland A’s (1996-97) and one with the Angels (1998).

Even though there are only a few current Dodgers who actually worked under Mashore in the minors, with Friedman and Zaidi’s oft-stated desire to “get younger,” there will undoubtedly be several Dodgers prospects in big league camp this spring who spent considerable time under Mashore’s tutelage. As such and should the 46-year-old Ponce, Puerto Rico native and former University of Arizona Wild Cat get the job, there will be a built-in comfort level among these future Dodgers – including the likes of Scott Schebler and Jacob Scavuzzo and current Dodgers Yasiel Puig and Joc Pederson.

Dodgers outfield prospect Scott Schebler, who hit .250 with three home runs (including this one against the Angels on September 9) after his September 1 call-up, is very familiar with Damon Mashore.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Although everything is still very much up in the air with the Dodgers coaching staff for next season, the team quite possibly already has the best man to become their next hitting coach already in their grasp. They would be negligent if they do not at least give Mashore a very close look to fill that crucially important position instead of chasing a flashier former major leaguer – which hasn’t worked out so well in the past.