Report: Kevin Long Hired as Phillies New Hitting Coach

The Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly hired Kevin Long as their new hitting coach for the 2022 season.

© Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

News: Kevin Long is going to join Joe Girardi's staff as a hitting coach, sources tell me and @MattGelb.

The former Nationals hitting coach will be reunited with Girardi and Rob Thomson, who he coached with in New York. Will also be reunited with Bryce Harper.

— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) October 11, 2021

Kevin Long has reportedly been hired as the Philadelphia Phillies new hitting coach, per senior MLB writer at The Athletic Britt Ghiroli.

On Oct. 3, the Phillies dismissed hitting coach Joe Dillon and infield coach Juan Castro of their duties, so the club was in the hunt for a new one.

Long has served as the hitting coach for the Washington Nationals since 2017, including their championship season in 2019.

In 2019, the Nationals led the National League in on-base percentage and were in the top-10 in MLB in most other batting categories.

Prior to working with Washington, Long was with the New York Mets organization for two years from 2015-2017, and the New York Yankees from 2007-2014.

His seven-year stint with the Yankees saw him working alongside current Phillies manager Joe Girardi and bench coach Rob Thomson.

While with the Yankees, he propelled their offense to ranking first in MLB in runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, team batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and total bases in 2007.

Following a down season offensively in 2008, the Yankees once again led the American League in runs scored and picked up the franchise's 27th World Series title in 2009.

Long was signed to a three-year contract by the Yankees in 2010, and was fired following the 2014 season.

Long's résumé, consisting of two world championships across three teams is certainly a welcome sight for the Phillies, who's 734 runs scored and .240 batting average for the 2021 season were league-average at best.

While Long's Nationals in 2021 were far from impressive, it's important to keep in mind just how much Washington shipped out at the trade deadline.

Perhaps Long's previous relationship with Girardi and Thomson will prove to be a wise reunion on the Phillies' part, and Long can work his magic on a Phillies lineup who seems to disappear offensively more often than not.

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• Should the Phillies Move on From Aaron Nola?

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