With the new coach staff set, the Phillies are reportedly interested in bringing in an additional hitting instructor to supplement new hitting coach Steve Henderson. This is not new to teams; a trend in baseball is to hire an "assistant hitting coach" to supplement instruction from the hitting coach. Some teams with the position include the Chicago White Sox, who employ Mike Gellinger, the Detroit Tigers who employ Toby Harrah, the St. Louis Cardinals who employ former Phillie John Mabry (of Moneyball fame), and the Atlanta Braves, who employ Scott Fletcher in this role.
According to CSNPhilly's Jim Salisbury, the Phillies are interested in former fan favorites Mike Sweeney and Matt Stairs to join the instructional staff. Salisbury reports:
According to sources, the Phillies have targeted Matt Stairs and Mike Sweeney as possible assistants to Henderson. Both played for the Phillies in recent seasons. Both are students of hitting and bring passion and energy to the craft.
It would sure be fun to have one of those two around. Both Sweeney and Stairs have done some radio and TV work since retiring. Stairs coaches hockey up in his native Canada and Mike Sweeney runs a charitible foundation.
Here's one of Matt Stairs' famous press conferences after his 2008 NLDS moon shot against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Jonathan Broxton:
