Tag Archives: Eric Hinske

January 3, 2023

Hinske as Hitting Coach

It looks like the Mets are bringing on Eric Hinske as their assistant hitting coach:

Eric Hinske expected to be Mets’ new assistant hitting coach, sources tell @TheAthletic. The Mets shuffled coaching roles early in the offseason, naming Eric Chavez bench coach and Jeremy Barnes hitting coach. Hinske previously worked for Mets GM Billy Eppler with Angels in ‘18.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 3, 2023

Hinske burned brightly and flamed out quickly. At seasonal age 24 he posted a great rookie season for the Blue Jays, winning the Jackie Robinson Award. He broke his hamate bone in his second season, and played without realizing he was injured. His hitting was never the same again.

I can believe the injury may have permanently hurt his swing. However, FanGraphs pitch vales for Hinske show he could only hit the fastball. This is a pattern. Rookies come up, and pitchers see if they can handle the fastball. When the batter proves he can hit that pitch, then the pitchers adjust. Hinske, whether due to the injury or his lack of an ability to adjust, never hit as well again.

There are a lot of levels to coaching, and most coaches are good at some of those and poor at some of those. I would think that for a hitting coach, recognizing when a hitter needs to adjust would be a major strength. There is no evidence Hinske had that strength as a player.

November 26, 2011

Players A to Z, Eric Hinske

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Eric Hinske plays outfield in a utility role for the Atlanta Braves. Eric is a low batting average player who draws a decent number of walks and hits for power. He doesn’t do anything poorly, but he doesn’t excel at any part of offense, either. This is pretty much reflected in his WAR, a mark of 10.3 in ten years according to baseball reference. He doesn’t hurt much, but he doesn’t help much.

Interestingly, Eric’s best year was his rookie season of 2002. He set his career high in home runs, batting average and OBP, and ended just shy of his career high in slugging. He looked like he would have a promising peak at that point, but the league adjusted to him and he never quite adjusted back. In 2004, pitchers changed their patterns against Eric as they threw him fewer fastballs and more change-ups. He never reached the promise of his rookie season.

Still, he is a useful back up and pinch hitter. He’s not the kind of player that turns a team into a winner, but he might be the kind of player that prevents injuries from turning a team into a loser.

October 10, 2010

Sanchez Relieved

Jonathan Sanchez allows a single and gets an out in the bottom of the eighth before Bruce Bochy replaces him with Sergio Romo, and Eric Hinske pinch-hits with a man on first.

Update: Hinkse hits a line drive, just inside the rightfield foul pole and just over the fence, and the Braves take a 2-1 lead. He hit three home runs as a pinch hitter in the regular season.

Update: Hinkse had a great season as a pinch hitter, 14/47 with three homers, a .298/.389/.596 slash line.

Update: That’s all the Braves get, but it may be enough. In a low-scoring, close game, the big hits matter, and right now the Braves’ home run beats the Giants’ triple.