Dodgers Team News

Report: The Dodgers Have Found Their New Hitting Coach

Less than a month after Turner Ward decided to take the hitting coach job with the Cincinnati Reds, the Dodgers appear to have found their replacement. Pedro Moura from The Athletic reported Monday afternoon that Robert Van Scoyoc will become the Dodgers new hitting coach.

Robert Van Scoyoc served as the Diamondbacks hitting strategist in the 2018 season. At just 32 years of age, Van Scoyoc would become the youngest coach in all of Major League Baseball.

Van Scoyoc grew up in the Los Angeles area. He has worked with other players such as Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez and current Dodger Chris Taylor. Van Scoyoc is not your traditional hitting coach. He will bring a different perspective to this organization.

Van Scoyoc has taught the importance of hitting the ball in the air, remaining on plane within the strike zone, shooting breaking balls to the pull side and timing fastballs to the opposite field.

Pedro Moura, The Athletic

Back in February of this year, the Diamondbacks hired Van Scoyoc as a hitting strategist. He left Arizona after one season and is now headed to Chavez Ravine. Our very own Clint Evans gave us an inside look on Van Scoyoc, and the impact he left on current big leaguers.

Final Thoughts

Turner Ward has left his mark in Los Angeles as he heads to Cincinnati as their new hitting coach. Ward possessed a unique relationship with the Dodgers over the last 3 seasons, especially with Yasiel Puig. I’m sure the fans, and of course Puig, will miss Turner Ward and Yasiel Puig kisses following a Puig home run.

The Dodgers fan base has a lot to look forward to for the 2019 season. Robert Van Scoyoc is a young, bright mind that will add his own insight to this already successful Dodgers offense.

 

Tyler Hawk

Currently living in Central California. Life-long Dodgers and Chargers fan.

10 Comments

  1. Not a Ward fan. Too many SO. Didn’t teach basics of hitting behind the runner/ opposite field/choking up after 2 strikes and yes bunting. Between Ward and Roberts neither knew how to manufacture runs. How many runners were left on third with less than 2 outs? How many times did Dodger hitters hit into the shift instead of hitting to the opposite field or bunting the ball?

    1. We’ll find out if anything changes now,, if not then we know these guys are just puppets who follow sabremetrics which doesn’t teach any of the things you mentioned.. I’ll be paying attention to the Reds as well to see if Wards strategy is any different with a new team. That will also indicate wether coaches for LA are just puppets who aren’t allowed to implement their own strategies

    2. Totally agree . Keep the inning going with hits . To many guys trying to hit grand slams. Need more clutch hitting line shots in the gaps.

  2. Van Scoyoc may not also be all in on this analytic L-R-L-R platooning that is done constantly either. He will find out much of an obsession the FO and Roberts have with moving players in and out of the lineup on a daily basis leading to inconsistency with this offense all year long and exposed big time in the PS. The striking out with regularity was a real problem last year. I am just not sure this hitting coach will be too excited seeing those hitters he is working with have a great game, only to sit the next day because of the opposing pitcher being RH or LH. Simply recall how 85+ HR’s were sitting on the bench for the first 2 WS games all because the SP was a LHP, which of course didn’t matter because the over all offense was non existent

  3. One other thing too, and that is for some reason the Dodger LHB don’t really get much of a chance to see many LHP to begin with and it’s no wonder most cannot hit against them at all. Remember that MLB players get here for the most part by showing they have some consistency against BOTH LHP and RHP but when they get up here they don’t get many looks at all. And because of this obsession with ‘match ups’ how many times in 2018 did we see Roberts run out of position players by the 7th inning? !

    1. lets hope they realize that it really didn’t work and give the every day players a chance to prove they either do or don’t belong

      1. Russ, it really didn’t work as you say and especially when it counted the most…in the WS. They barely got by the Brewers but were not going to get by the Red Sox who of course showed one reason why they got to the WS and that is with elite pitching one might expect in a WS….But I blame our pitching staff as well for these past 2 WS losses (12 games combined) because they gave up 23 HR’s as compared to the team hitting 16. I mean when your ‘ace’ in CK gives up 3 HR’s in game 5 followed by the fact that KJ gave up 2 consecutive save blowing HR’s in the WS does not give ya much of a chance IMHO….

  4. I’m a bit concerned that he worked with Chris Taylot. Which Chris Taylor…the 2017 or 2018 version?

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