It might be hard for some to believe, but prior to 1977 the position of Hitting coach as such did not exist. The first hitting coach with that title was Jim Gilliam. There have been 18 since. Before that time, players did not have a specific person to go to. All of these guys had varying degrees of experience. Some, including Gilliam, Mattingly, McGwire. Wallack, Reggie Smith, Jack Clark, Mota, Murray, and Mueller, had pretty good careers. The current coach, Van Scoyoc, never played pro ball. He played some in college and described his career there as mediocre. His claim to fame was helping JD Martinez improve his swing, and then he got hired by the Dodgers as a hitting analyst and helped Chris Taylor revamp his swing.
The Hitting Coach
