With the offense on the rocks, who could the Minnesota Twins potentially look to as hitting coach?
A lot has been made about the Minnesota Twins and their struggling offense. The team has put together a very inconsistent performance thus far and despite a slight improvement over the start of the season, the offense still has not been what it was in 2015.
Perhaps the biggest issue has been the team batting average of .233 entering Tuesday’s game with the Kansas City Royals.
At the forefront has been the career-worst performance of All-Star second baseman Brian Dozier who is hitting just .199 while finding himself getting some time on the bench recently.
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In retrospect, the Twins’ offense may look stagnant compared to last season but really, the team hit just .247 combined and really looked better than it actually was after hitting .279 with runners in scoring position, good for third in the majors.
This year has been a far cry from that for the Twins. They currently rank 29th in the league in batting average with runners in scoring position, hitting .216.
One popular consensus among fans and critics has been that the Twins should replace Tom Brunansky as hitting coach.
And really, for as inconsistent as the offense has been these past two seasons, why shouldn’t the Twins look to someone else?
I don’t believe the team should look to replace Brunansky midseason. Despite the team’s struggles, shaking things up in the middle of a season doesn’t strike me as something the Twins would want to do.
So hypothetically speaking, let’s say the Twins’ offense continues to be truly awful and Brunansky gets let go.
Who should the Twins look to?
I was thinking about this at work and came up with one intriguing candidate who has ties with the Twins. Keep in mind, this is just pure speculation as there has been no real news on what this guy will look to do next year.
The guy I came up with is Big Papi himself, David Ortiz.
The thought process behind this is due to the Miami Marlins and their offseason hiring of Barry Bonds as their hitting coach.
So why Ortiz? Well, throughout his career (with the Boston Red Sox that is) he has been nothing short of a clutch hitting megastar who lives for the big moment.
This season alone – allegedly his last – Ortiz is hitting .335. His impact on the Red Sox has been felt ever since the Twins released him following the 2002 season.
The Red Sox have won a few championships, Ortiz has been a World Series MVP and broken the Red Sox record for home runs in a single season.
What he could bring to a Twins team featuring the likes of Byung-ho Park, Miguel Sano, Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer is a fresh take on how to adjust to today’s pitching as well as instant respect with a resume of a future Hall of Famer.
I feel Ortiz could have a huge impact on Dozier, Sano and Park especially and advise them on how to be patient and have better at-bats.
Another aspect that Ortiz brings is endurance. No, I’m not saying he is someone who can run a marathon or anything but his long career has had so many ups and downs, twists and turns that he could have a positive impact on some of the younger guys who may go through those same struggles.
Particularly guys like Sano and Dozier who maybe came into the season with the weight of high expectations and have thus far underperformed.
A calming voice from someone who has gone through the struggles of a major league season may be just what a young team needs.
So that is my hypothetical scenario and who I think could be a possible candidate for a position that may be open once this season is over.
But at this point, it’s all hearsay and while it’s fun, nothing real until the first move is made.