Following the 2024 season, the Atlanta Braves decided it was time for a fresh start, particularly on offense. They parted ways with hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, among others. It didn’t take long for him to land a job out in Seattle with the Mariners. After all, he had coached a historic offense just a season prior, as well as a World Series winner.
The Braves’ 307 home runs as a team in 2023 are tied with the 2019 Twins for the most ever in a season. It’s also just one of three occasions where a team has hit 300 home runs or more in a season.
Maybe, just maybe, he could be the one to finally find the solution to the Mariners’ long years of having an anemic offense. He was, and it took no time at all.
As his first year with the Mariners comes to a close, the Mariners are ranked, as of Thursday afternoon, third in home runs in MLB this season (236). Only the New York Yankees (266) and Los Angeles Dodgers (237) are ahead.
Meanwhile, the Braves have slumped from fourth in the Majors in home runs last season (213) to 11th (187), and this is with the offensive slump that they experienced for most of the season.
A major part of this home run turnaround comes from MVP candidate Cal Raleigh, who hit his 60th home run on Wednesday night to help the Mariners clinch the American League West for the first time since they won 116 games in 2001. Raleigh, already a home run hitter before 2025, has become a machine with Seitzer as the coach.
For good measure, the Mariners saw their team’s OPS jump from .687 (22nd in baseball) to .744 (10th in baseball).
As for the Braves, they have seen their OPS (.721) stay consistent with last season (.724), but have actually been better than the Mariners’ team OPS since the All-Star Break (.747 to .743). Since then, key struggling Braves bats have seen turnarounds.
Circling back to the topic of home runs, the Braves are seventh in home runs since the All-Star Break.
It stings for the Braves to see the old hitting coach go out west and get credit for an offensive surge. However, it could be they are seeing the fruits of the work under Tim Hyers late in the season.
Perhaps, there is a chance for a win-win with the Braves and their former hitting coach. It’s just going to take another year to find out. While Seitzer is showing that something is cooking in Seattle, the Braves need a 162-game sample size of success.
If they can correct course in one-run games and get more consistent big hits, then we will be able to know for sure that all is fine for everyone.
