Rob Thomson Claims Phillies' Hitting Coach is Best in Baseball Despite Recent Woes
Rob Thomson Claims Phillies' Hitting Coach is Best in Baseball Despite Recent Woes originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
It's been a rough few weeks for the City of Brotherly Love's baseball fans.
The Philadelphia Phillies have gone from having the best record in all of MLB to being swept by their lowly western neighbors, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Philly now sits at 37-28, 4.5 games back of the NL East division lead.
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Their recent struggles have mostly been on the offensive side. With Bryce Harper sidelined for a combination of elbow and wrist injuries, the club has gone just 1-7. They also only won one of three during the brief period he was back, but clearly not up to his normal ability.
During this slide, they've averaged just a tick over three runs per game. In four of their games on the current five game losing streak, they only scored a single run.
Trea Turner is one of the only Phillies not in a massive hitting slump - he's still maintaining a .300 average during this skid.Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Yet Phillies manager Rob Thomson is adamant that hitting coach Kevin Long isn't one to blame for the downturn.
"I think Kevin is the best hitting coach in baseball," Thomson said before Monday's game. "I think these guys listen to him. He's a tireless worker. He's great with the players. He's knowledgeable, obviously. But he also tells them the truth, and they respect that."
Bold doesn't accurately describe what kind of claim that is to make right now. There's no doubt that Philly's lineup is full of hitters who can do serious damage - but it also can't be denied that it's prone to going cold for extended stretches. The last three Postseasons, as well as last July and this current stretch, are evidence of that - and Long was around for it all.
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As a team, the Phillies are 12th in MLB in average, 14th in home runs, and 10th in hits, RBI, and OPS. However, that is with Kyle Schwarber having a monster year and Trea Turner building off a strong May. The rest of the order is not riding the same highs.
Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm have both cooled off after their own impressive months. Bryson Stott is now looking overmatched in the leadoff spot. There are still two big holes in the outfield, and J.T. Realmuto's power has vanished.
Even Harper was not playing in peak form - it's possible that his wrist injury was hampering him more than he initially let on.
All-in-all, it's been looking more like the lineup of a Wild Card contender than a World Series one.
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Related: Phillies' Bryce Harper Reveals Severity of Wrist Injury After IL Move
Related: Phillies Identified as Potential Trade Fit for Orioles All-Star
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
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