Royals Hire Jack Maloof as Hitting Coach, Andre David as Assistant

Right after the season ended, the Royals fired Kevin Seitzer as hitting coach. Disappointing seasons by Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas (who faded in the second half) held down an offense that looked like it was ready to take a step forward in 2012.

As his replacement, the Royals hired Jack Maloof, who previously held the position of minor league hitting coordinator and special assistant since 2008 with the Royals. Prior to that he was in the Braves organization. He was the Marlins hitting coach from 1999 until 2001, where he helped the team raise their batting average and home run production. During the postseason press conference, manager Ned Yost suggested that he wanted to see more homers from his lineup going forward.

Maloof won’t be alone. Also joining him is Andre David, who was the Royals hitting coach for 11 months from May 30, 2005 to May 1, 2006. He’ll be the assistant Major League hitting coach. He’s been in the organization for 13 years and most recently worked as a hitting instructor at the Royals spring training and instructional facility in Surprise, Arizona. The Royals are following a trend started by many of having more than one coach for their hitters.

Both showed the ability to take walks in the minor leagues, so that may be part of the Royals decision in hiring both. A focus on better pitch selection and discipline would be a good direction to go.

Though, it should be noted, Seitzer was always known as a patient hitter during his career and if he tried to pass on that attribute, the message never took hold.