Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
September 08, 2008
What Happened to Hillman?

Via Baseball Time in Arlington, Joe Posnanski wonders what happened to the Trey Hillman who was so successful in Japan:

No, the troubling part is that all of those things that Dayton Moore and so many others saw in Hillman -- his bustling energy, his likeable personality, his sense of perspective, his ability to inspire and motivate the players -- those things have been missing in action. The Royals have played lackluster baseball. They have gone backward defensively. They are so unfocused that Hillman last week made a point to say they're catching pop-ups better. They have by far the worst plate discipline in all of baseball. The Royals' young players have not improved enough and in some case regressed. This is not a well-managed baseball team.

And everyone seems to know it, especially the players. It should be said up front that Major League Baseball players often grumble about their manager. But multiple sources who are around the club every day say that these Royals openly mock him. A new Trey Hillman joke is almost a daily occurrence, and it's hard for a manager to recover from being a clubhouse punchline.

It seems it was easier for Hillman to adjust to the different world of Japan than the familiar world of Major League Baseball. Posnanski notes at the end of the article that Hillman's job is safe and he does seem to be learning from his mistakes. However, it's a disappointing article given the high hopes for the manager at the beginning of the season.


Posted by David Pinto at 11:05 AM | Management | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Post a comment









Remember personal info?