FLUSHING, N.Y., October 26, 2021 – The New York Mets today announced they will exercise the option on Jeremy Hefner to return as pitching coach for the 2022 season.
Hefner, 35, has served as the Mets pitching coach since 2020. Last year, the pitching staff ranked in the top 10 in ERA (3.90, ninth in MLB), strikeout percentage (25.1%, fifth in MLB), walk percentage (8.2%, ninth in MLB), WHIP (1.23, seventh in MLB) and hits per 9 innings (7.97, 10th in MLB).
“Jeremy has done an outstanding job of working with the entire pitching staff and they’ve all benefitted from his leadership and expertise,” said Mets President Sandy Alderson. “He has blended analytics with his knowledge to provide players with tools for individual and team success.”
“I’m extremely excited to continue working with this group and build on the systems and practices we’ve implemented,” said Hefner. “I saw a lot of development from the rotation and bullpen and am very optimistic for even more success from the pitching staff moving forward.”
Nothing against Hefner, but hiring/renewing a pitching coach without waiting to hire a a POBO, GM or Manager is very backwards.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they were going to lose him.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind the stability created by bringing Hefner back. He was a competent pitching coach, and pitching was not their problem. Physical health and hitting were the big two.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is nice to let the new manager pick the staff, but as Mack said - maybe they were going to lose him. This is not where you would start tearing things down.