Do hitting coaches matter? Like anything else, they do if you believe they do
When Edgar Martinez was hired as hitting coach in late June of last year to bolster a badly slumping Mariners team, reactions varied from cautious optimism (maybe Edgar can fix it?) to the existentially blase (he certainly can't hurt them any worse) to outright negativity (nothing can fix it!). Some took a cynical view, chalking the move up to a crass PR strategy trading on past nostalgia, Jack Z going up to the attic of the new house and getting down the Christmas ornaments we made as children.