This offseason, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and manager Ryne Sandberg talked about the new offensive philosophy the Philadelphia Phillies, as an organization, were going to employ moving forward.
The message sounded simple and is something that is basically taught from little league on up — make contact, cut down on strikeouts, keep the ball out of the air by hitting more line drives and improve on situational hitting. They were going to do it in a way the organization had never done it before, according to Amaro.
Team president Pat Gillick noted in spring training, however, that the most work was to occur at the minor league level.