Phillies Hitting Coach Says There Could Be 'Friction' Amidst Lineup's Need To Change

There will be some adjustments the Philadelphia Phillies have to make on offense this season, and that could result in some "friction" according to the team's hitting coach.

Brad Wakai | Feb 17, 2025

Feb 16, 2025; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski (left) and manager Rob Thomson (59) (right) / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies have a great clubhouse culture where virtually everyone, from players to the coaching staff to the front office, get along well and go about their business comfortably.

That could change this season.

After getting eliminated in the playoffs in embarrassing fashion the past two years - blowing a 3-2 lead at home then losing to their archrivals - president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said some changes could be coming.

That ultimately didn't happen.

The coaching staff and core group of stars who have been present for this successful stretch will be back in 2025 with the hopes they can finally clear that last hurdle and win the World Series.

While there were no overarching personnel changes, that doesn't mean the Phillies won't try to alter their approach at the plate, something this fan base has been clamoring for ever since the collapse against the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023 at Citizens Bank Park.

"But for us to get over the top, we've got to get a little bit better, individually and collectively as a coaching staff. Maybe it's pressing guys a little bit more and really getting some buy-in in some areas where we can do a better job," hitting coach Kevin Long said in an interview with Matt Gelb of The Athletic.

A lot of this is going to fall on Long's shoulders.

He's the one working with the hitters on a daily basis, and with a clear directive from Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson about how this lineup needs to approach things going forward, it's on him to make sure that happens.

"We need to have better at-bats. We need to make better decisions. And when you make better decisions, you're probably seeing the ball a little bit deeper. I think that's what Rob alluded to: If we're seeing the ball deep, we're probably going to use the other field," Long added.

That brings up the old adage; can an old dog be taught new tricks?

The Phillies have a lineup loaded with stars, and they have all gotten to this point and become that caliber of player by doing things the way they always have.

And for many of them, that's having a free-swinging mindset at the plate.

But it's not working for Philadelphia when it matters most, evident by their domination of opposing staffs in the regular season, but their mind-numbing cold streaks in the playoffs the past two years where they are getting themselves out by swinging at bad pitches.

Dombrowski, Thomson and Long know things have to change, and the players in the clubhouse also know things have to change based on what Trea Turner said following their elimination.

Still, getting to the point where habits are broken and new ones are created is the difficult part.

That's why Long believes there are going to be some tough conversations that will be had over the course of the season, and it might not be the cuddly relationship the players have had with the coaching staff the past few years.

"Dustin [Lind], [Rafael Pena] and I have talked about just being a little bit more forceful. Listen, if we piss them off — at times it's going to be that. There might be some friction. But if it's for the betterment of the team and for us to get to where we need to be, then we need to do it," Long stated.

There's a good chance that could happen.

Nick Castellanos was vocal about going back to how the Phillies have always approached things when the offense was struggling during the early part of the 2024 campaign.

It worked in the short term and contributed to Philadelphia winning their first NL East title in over a decade, but those bad habits were still allowed to exist, and when the offense needed to be at their best on the biggest stage, they crumbled.

How willing Long is to push the envelope this time around will be seen.

But it sounds like the coaching staff is gearing up to be much harder on the players when it comes to their decisions at the plate, something that could be the final thing that gets this team over the hump.

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