Former Dodgers Hitting Coach Hired by Longtime NL Rival

Maren Angus-Coombs | Oct 28, 2024

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Former Los Angeles Dodgers hitter coach Brant Brown was appointed St. Louis’ new hitting coach for the 2025 season on Tuesday, receiving strong support from former Cardinals bench coach and two-time World Series champion Skip Schumaker.

Brown, 53, joins the Cardinals after serving as the offensive coordinator and bench coach for the Mariners. He was let go in May due to the team's sluggish offensive start.

Before his time in Seattle, Brown worked with the Dodgers from 2018 to 2022 as an assistant hitting coach and hitting strategist. He also spent 2023 as the head hitting coach for the Marlins, working alongside Schumaker.

Under Schumaker’s leadership, the Marlins emerged as one of baseball’s surprise teams, making the playoffs and earning him the National League Manager of the Year Award.

We have also hired Brant Brown as our new Hitting Coach.

Brown has been a Major League assistant coach for the past seven seasons, working with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins and Seattle Mariners. Brown worked alongside Jon Jay on the Marlins coaching staff in 2023. pic.twitter.com/MNUak3cr8w

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) October 22, 2024

The Cardinals wrapped up a season with an 83-79 record, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row. They finished tied for second in the National League Central but fell six games short in the wild-card race.

“I definitely think he brings a lot of energy – there’s no doubt about it – and that showed up in his interviews,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said of Brown. “The way he thinks about hitting and approaches it, it’s going to be a change from where we’ve been. Keeping with a changed model, that will be healthy for us. How he goes about [teaching hitting] from a strategic standpoint, I think it will help our younger hitting coaches and he’ll be a good mentor. But I also think he’ll be a new voice for our hitters, which will be good.”

Brown takes over from Turner Ward, another former Dodgers hitting coach, who was dismissed following the franchise's second consecutive playoff absence in 2024. The Cardinals finished the season above .500 but their offense struggled, ranking 12th in the National League in runs (672), 12th in home runs (165), and 13th in RBIs (639).

Their overall run differential was minus-47, largely due to these offensive challenges. However, their ability to win close games—finishing 29-22 in one-run contests—kept them in contention for an NL Wild Card spot until mid-September.

“When I say change, I think about where we once were with [former hitting coach] Jeff Albert and then the shift to Turner Ward,” Mozeliak said. “I think [Brown] is someone a little bit more in between, and hopefully that balance of messaging will benefit us.”