In 2017, the Chicago Cubs hitting coach was John Mallee. A believer of metrics and launch angle, he coached the team to the World Series in 2016. A year later he was ‘old news,’ and the Cubs brought in Chili Davis–a situational coach who was not a believer in the metrics or launch angle. In 2019, it’s Anthony Iapoce. Seriously, the guys have to wear nametags in the clubhouse.
Reports came out that Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo ‘pushed’ for the Davis firing. Davis admitted that he didn’t connect with millennial players (Is this why Joe Maddon bought the Millenials for Dummies book?