The ESPN cameras were there when Carl Crawford met with Derek Shelton for the first time this off-season. What is telling about this video is that Shelton seems a bit more proactive than most hitting coaches. He has taken the time this winter to fly around the country and meet with several of the Rays as opposed to waiting until spring training. And so far, the players seem to like him and his style.
There is a lot of debate about the importance of a hitting coach. Often, their biggest challenge is to get hitters out of funks and back to where they are confident swinging a bat. And Shelton’s most important student this off-season is BJ Upton.
And how are things working between Shelton and Upton in their first few weeks together? Marvelously (via WTSP.com).
“He’s been unbelievable, and he’s here to help,” says B.J. Upton. “I think that’s something that he emphasized to me the first week we were together, and it’s kind of been rolling ever since.”
With all of his shoulder injuries, BJ (neé Melvin) lost some of his bat speed in 2009, and with that he appeared to lose some of his confidence, especially when it came to attacking fastballs. If Upton can stay healthy in 2010 and recover his bat speed, it then becomes a matter of rediscovering the confidence to be a good big league hitter.
And based on the quote above, Shelton has Bossman’s confidence moving in the right direction.
Now if he can just get Dioner Navarro to have a little less confidence attacking the buffet table.
The Rays today announced that they have hired Derek Shelton as the team’s new hitting coach. For the last four and a half seasons, Shelton served as the hitting coach for the Indians under Eric Wedge. Shelton replaces Steve Henderson, who was let go earlier this month after four seasons in the position.
Andrew Friedmanon Shleton (via press release):
“Derek has proven himself to be one of the better minds in baseball when it comes to hitting,” Rays Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said. “He brings a fresh voice that can help our talented core of hitters reach new heights. His attention to detail and ability to communicate will be great additions to our group.”
Joe Maddon on Shelton:
“I believe he is the kind of coach who can create a hitting program that will benefit the organization both at the minor league and major league levels,” said Rays Manager Joe Maddon. “In our conversations, I found that we share the same philosophy on a number of different areas. He was very clear and concise on his intentions and in the end it was an easy decision.”
The quote from Maddon seems telling as Shelton’s job will be just important, if not more so, at the minor league level. Many believe that a hitting coach’s impact at the big league level is minimal. However, the Rays are an organization that believes it is important to instill a philosophy in their players very early on in their development.
Back in September, Let’s Go Tribe took a look at the Indian’s hitting performance under Shelton and had hoped he would be retained even if Wedge was dismissed.
Shelton is the fifth hitting coach in club history joining Henderson (1998, 2006-09), Leon Roberts (1999-2000), Wade Boggs (2001), Milt May (2002) and Lee Elia (2003-05).
