Used to be that, if you asked someone who they thought was the best hitting coach in baseball, they’d be more likely to tell you “Rudy Jaramillo” than anybody else. They’d be most likely to tell you “I don’t know the names of any hitting coaches,” but those who knew some names would name Jaramillo before naming someone else.
Rudy Jaramillo Dismissed By Cubs
The Chicago Cubs have parted ways with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, replacing him with James Rowson.
Jaramillo was the hitting coach for the Texas Rangers between 1995-2009, which was unsurprisingly the longest tenure for a hitting coach in baseball. After that he joined the Chicago Cubs, serving in the same role. This is all a lead-in to the following news:
#Cubs dismissed hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo & named James Rowson, minor league hitting coordinator, as interim major league hitting coach.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 12, 2012
The Cubs have twice as many losses as wins, and they’re sitting on a team 87 OPS+. Bryan LaHair hasn’t been able to do everything, although he’s tried, and so Jaramillo is gone. For the same reasons that many hitting coaches eventually end up gone:
There was a basic philosophical split between Jaramillo and new Cubs' regime; they don't believe in same things. This change was inevitable.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 12, 2012
New people are in charge of the Cubs, and Jaramillo was a carry-over. New people in charge usually like to handpick the staff below them, and now the Cubs will be free to go after who they want. Presuming that isn’t Rowson, which for all I know it could be.
The Cubs have been a disaster, and Jaramillo is out of a job. If he wants to continue, he probably won’t be out of a job for very long.
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