Tim Hyers discusses philosophy as Braves’ new hitting coach

This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Here are some highlights of a conversation Hyers recently had with Atlanta media members:

Q: As the Braves’ offense struggled last year, there was a lot of talk about how the lineup was filled with power hitters. Can an MLB lineup’s DNA be adjusted during the season?

Hyers: I had some experience with that, with the 2018 (World Series champion) Red Sox team that liked to swing the bat, but they could impact the game, and that’s what I say with this group. They can impact the game with one swing and change the scoreboard in a hurry. But you also have to identify those other times when you can take it down a notch and be a complete hitter, win 90 feet to start rallies and understand how to score runs.

I think there’s multiple ways to do that. I think that’s where the environment starts, by getting those leaders together to discuss what it takes to win games. Yes, it’s in their DNA to mash baseballs and impact the game. But it’s also about picking those little areas and spots during the season where you can help them see different ways to score runs. I think we can do it. It’ll obviously be a challenge. But if you go back to the core fundamentals, if we swing at better pitches and we’re the most prepared team offensively, I think those things blend in to helping them use the whole field, identify situational hitting and grind it out with two strikes and not just give at-bats away.

Q: What is a good approach or philosophy?

Hyers: Three core principles I’m going to preach day in and day out are game planning, swing decisions and our movements in the batter’s box.

With game planning, we have so much information these days, which is great. I love information, but I think that the current art of coaching is funneling that information, so we have that one idea or that one thought that we can go compete with in the batter’s box. I think a lot of hitters can only think about one thing at a time and hit 97 mph. So, you take the information and determine what is most important.

As for swing decisions, you’re only as good as the strikes you swing at. I mean, it’s basic. I think you can break that down into two groups. Can we eliminate some chase? What are we swinging at for our strengths in parts of the zone? I think there’s some ways we can identify that to get players swinging at their pitches.

Lastly is their movement pattern. Watching some video (of Braves from this past season), I think some of the injuries cause players to get out of their swing. The mental affects the physical and you had some guys who wanted to do more because some key players got hurt. I think we can clean some of those patterns and get them back into their groove.

Q: How do you deal with the reality that many players lean heavily on swing coaches not affiliated with the organization?

Hyers: My job is to understand what’s going on. What are they talking about? How can I serve that hitter in multiple different ways? If he has his own hitting coach, I mean, that’s fine with me, but I just need to be in the loop and communicate, so I can serve the player and understand exactly what has been communicated so that I don’t come off message. We can come together and also have that communication where I also see things, so that we can have a back and forth on a day-to-day basis. I think if it’s done right with communication, it can be healthy, because the player has a relationship with somebody.