Braves hire Hyers as new hitting coach

ATLANTA -- One year after helping the Rangers win a World Series title, Tim Hyers is coming home to guide the Braves’ offense.

Hyers was announced as the Braves’ new hitting coach on Thursday. The 53-year-old suburban Atlanta native filled the same role for the Rangers over the past three seasons. He has won a World Series at the end of two of his seven seasons as a big league hitting coach (Red Sox, 2018).

Coincidentally, the Rangers and Braves, respectively, won the American League and National League Team Silver Slugger awards when the honor was first presented last year.

The 2023 Braves were the first team in AL/NL history to produce a .500-plus slugging percentage. The powerful bunch matched an MLB record with 307 homers and set a modern-era franchise record with 947 runs scored. This season was a different story, as five position players from the Opening Day lineup missed at least two months.

Former hitting coach Kevin Seitzer was externally praised during last year’s record-setting season and criticized during this year’s struggles. He was dismissed with a month left on his contract, one week after the Braves were eliminated by the Padres in the National League Wild Card Series.

Hyers will oversee a lineup that will benefit from the return of 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., who underwent season-ending knee surgery after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament on May 26. Austin Riley will also be back in the mix after missing this past season’s final six months with a fractured right hand.

The 2025 Braves' lineup will include Acuña, Riley, Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna, who have all received top 10 MVP votes within the past two seasons. Ozzie Albies and 2022 NL Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II add to the lineup’s star power.

Hyers will be tasked with helping 2023 All-Star catcher Sean Murphy bounce back from the injury-plagued .636 OPS he produced this year. But the hitting coach’s greatest challenge might be his attempt to be the guy to get Jarred Kelenic right.

Kelenic hit 15 homers and constructed a .679 OPS over 449 plate appearances. The 25-year-old has proven to be a capable fourth outfielder. But after they spent approximately $17 million to gain the chance to control him for five years through a Dec. 2023 trade with the Mariners, the Braves are hoping he starts to live up to the potential he had when he was a first-round selection for the Mets in 2018 (No. 6 overall) and one of the game’s top prospects while in Seattle’s system.

Hyers attended Newton High School, located approximately 30 miles east of downtown Atlanta, and he was taken by the Blue Jays in the second round of the 1990 MLB Draft. His big league career consisted of 133 games played over four seasons for the Padres (1994-95), Tigers ('96) and Marlins ('99).

Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos was in Los Angeles’ front office when Hyers was the Dodgers' assistant hitting coach from 2016-17.

Hyers also crossed paths with Braves ace Chris Sale while serving as Boston’s hitting coach from 2018-21. The Red Sox beat the Dodgers in the 2018 World Series.