Phillies Sign Matt Stairs as Hitting Coach

By Uppy

The Phillies have signed former outfielder and broadcaster, Matt Stairs, to be their new hitting coach. Stairs, who spent 19 years in the big leagues, spent the last three years after retirement as the Phillies color commentator for the TV broadcasts. As Stairs puts it, “Honestly, the last three years, by sitting in that booth, I can tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly of every swing. I was a hitting coach to the fans, now I’ve become a hitting coach to 25 players. I just love hitting. And I’m not tooting my own horn, but I know hitting. A lot of people might think, ‘He was the guy that swung from his heels to try and hit home runs.’ That was only later in my career. I can break down a swing.”

And I can tell you from watching the broadcasts that this man knows hitting. His analysis and critique of the finer things in baseball were an absolute treat as a viewer. While I'm sad to see that he's out of the booth, I'm excited for the young guys coming up. Matt Stairs is gonna be a great hitting coach because this man has seen some shit over the years. He grew up a hockey player in Canada, so you know he's tough, eh. He played in Japan for a year and then 19 years in the bigs, with one of the biggest swings in Philadelphia Phillies history:

The players already know him so he's not some new guy trying to change everybody's swings. Now if he can just teach Maikel Franco how to lay off pitches and go the other way then we're cooking with gas. Phillies World Series Champs 2017 you heard it here first. Mickey Moniak for MVP. Matt Stairs Hitting Coach of the Year.