Tuesday, October 27, 2026
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According to a report by Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic, the Philadelphia Phillies have hired Peter Fatse as their new hitting coach.
Shortly after the conclusion of their season, the Phillies created a vacancy in the role by firing former hitting coach Kevin Long, who held the position from 2022-2026.
Fatse had been with the Boston Red Sox from 2020-2026. In 2022, Fatse was promoted to the team’s hitting coach. He was brought in by former Red Sox’s manager Alex Cora, who of course was pursued by the Phillies on two separate occasions this past year.
When Cora was let go by Boston, Fatse was one of several assistant coaches who were also terminated in the move.
From 2022-2025, the four full seasons in which he was in control of Boston’s hitters, the team held a .255 batting average, which was the fourth best in baseball. In that same span however, the Phillies were second with a .256 mark.
Those Red Sox teams struck out at a 23.2% clip, where the Phillies struck out at a 22.6% mark themselves.
In most important statistical categories, the Phillies were better than the Red Sox. How much of that was talent and how much of what was approach? Boston missed the postseason in three of those four seasons.
After being let go by Boston, Fatse later joined the Tampa Bay Rays organization as a hitting consultant for the club’s baseball research and development program. Obviously, Tampa Bay swung the bats well this season, as they won the American League Pennant.
When the Phillies eventually head south for Spring Training, they will have new voices in the clubhouse. Perhaps a new hitting coach can turn around this veteran core and get them back to the dynamic offense they once were.
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