The Chicago White Sox will name Todd Steverson as their new hitting coach after the World Series is over, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Steverson will replace Jeff Manto, who was let go by the team toward the end of the regular season. The White Sox scored an AL-worst 598 runs in 2013, but ranked fourth in the league in 2012 with 748 runs.
Todd Steverson to become Chicago White Sox hitting coach
Steverson was previously the Oakland Athletics’ minor league hitting coordinator.
Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE
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Steverson spent the last two seasons as the Oakland Athletics' minor league hitting coordinator. He also spent two seasons as Oakland's first-base coach, and managed Oakland's Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A affiliates over a 10-year career with the organization.
Manto was often criticized during his stint with Chicago for his dismissal of on-base percentage as a useful statistic, according to South Side Sox. Rather, he invented his own metric, known as “runs produced,” which put stock in RBI and runs scored. Steverson figures to bring a more balanced philosophy, seeing value in both patience and aggressiveness in different situations.
South Side Sox offers this quote from Steverson:
“Obviously with the Moneyball era, I think it got understood a lot about what the philosophy of it really was. We wanted our players to hit strikes, be able to take walks when they’re given to you, have an on-base percentage -- obviously on-base percentage turns into runs, high on-base percentages throughout the lineup turns into runs, which turns into wins.”
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